158 THE ALCOHOL PROBLEM 
peaceful surroundings and without any cause of excite- 
ment, the essentially sedative action of the drug 
develops and causes drowsiness and sleep. If he 
attempts to perform any mental or mechanical work 
it would be found that his powers were distinctly 
diminished, though he himself would probably be 
convinced that he was more efficient than usual. 
Moreover, the higher the type of work attempted, 
whether mental or physical, the greater the influence of 
the drug. Mental work depending on semi-automatic 
memory processes might be influenced little if at all, 
and physical work, if consisting of the simplest and least 
co-ordinated muscular movements, might likewise be 
scarcely affected. The brute force of the man might 
be unimpaired, but he would lack skill in applying it 
to the best advantage. 
These effects, be it noted, may be produced by a 
moderate quantity of alcoholic liquor such as a pint of 
beer or half a gill of whisky; but we shall see in the 
next chapter that even in one and the same person they 
vary enormously according to the conditions under 
which they are taken. If a man is determined to drink 
his beer or his whisky at times when he is engaged on 
mental or physical work, he can easily reduce the 
adverse influence of the alcohol (when taken in modera- 
tion) to comparatively small limits if he adopts a few 
very simple precautions.