Hope Republican, Volume 2, Number 17, Hope, Bartholomew County, 17 August 1893 — Page 7

SOME SANITARY ASPECTS OF BREAD MAKING. BY CYRUS ED80N, M. I). Mealth Commissioner, New York City. It is necessary, if one would understand the sanitary aspects of bread making, to fully comprehend the present theory held by scientists of germs and the part played by them in disease. The theory of disease germs is merely the name given to the knowledge had of those germs by medical men. a knowledge which is the re°ult of innumerable experiments. Being this, the old term of a “theory” has become a misnomer. A germ of a disease is a plant, so small that I do not know how to express intelligibly to the general reader its lack of size. When this germ is introduced into 'the blood or tissues of the body, its action appears to be analogous to that which takes place when yeast is added to dough. It attacks certain elements of the blood or tissues, and destroys them, at the same time producing new substances. But the germs of the greater part of the germ diseases, that is, of the infectious and contagious diseases, will develop or increase in number without being in the body of a human being, provided always you

“disease germs their way into the yeast bread.”

Fgive them the proper conditions. These conditions are to be found in dough which is being raped with .yeast. They are warmth, moisture and the organic matter of the flour on which the germs, after certain i changes, feed. | It is necessary to remenber at | this point that yeast is germ growth, and when introduced into a nixture of glucose or starch, in the piesence I of warmth and moisture set; up a fomentation. If the mixtun be a starchy dough the yeast first cbulges a portion of the starch into gucose and then decomposes the glucoe by changing it into two new substaiccs, viz., carbonic acid gas andalcobl. Now the gluten, which is a so a constituent of dough and roist starch, affords, with the latte; an excel' ent nidus for the developr.ent of germs of disease as well aStor the yeast germs. The germs of cholera, as of typhoid fever, wold, if introduced into dough, find vry favorable conditions for their growh, 1 do not wish to “pose” as in alarmist, nor am I willing to s»y there is very much chance of te germs of typhus and of cholea reaching the stomachs of.the peop? who eat bread which has been raisg with yeast. But I have not th slightest cause to doubt that othe , diseases have been and will be car ried about in the bread.

I have met journeymen bakers, suffering from cutaneous diseases, working the dough in the bread trough with naked hands and arms. I have no reason to suppose bakers are less liable to cutaneous diseases than are other men. and I know, as every housewife knows, yeast-raised , bread must be worked a long time. This is an exceedingly objectionable thing from the standpoint of a physician, for the reason that the germs of disease which are in the air and dust and on stairways and straps in streetcars, are most often collected on the hands. Any person \tho has ever kneaded dough understands the way in which the dough cleans the hands. This means that any germs which may have found a lodgingon the hands of the baker before he makes up his batch of bread are sure to find their way into the dough, and once there, to find all the conditions necessary for subdivision and growth. This is equivalent to saying that we must rely on heat to kill these germs, because it is almost certain that they will be there. Now, underdone or doughy bread is , a form which every man and woman ' has seen. 1 It is a belief as old as the hills that I underdone bread is unhealthful. This (reputation has been earned for it by (the experience of countless generations, and no careful mother will (wish her children to eat bread that ■ has pot been thoroughly cooked, llhe reason giveq for this recognized mhealthfulness has been that the

uncooked yeast dough is very difficult to digest. No one but a physician would be apt to think of disease germs which have not been killed during the process of baking as a cause of the the sickness following the use of uncooked yeast bread. Yet this result from this cause is more than probable. I have not the slightest doubt that could we trace back some of the cases of illness which we meet in our practice we would find that germs collected by the baker have found their way into the yeast bread, that the heat has not been sufficient to destroy them, that the uncooked yeast bread has been eaten and with it the colonies of germs, that they have found their way into the blood and that the call for our services which followed, has rounded off this sequence of events. I have already pointed out that the germs of disease are to be found in the air and dust. The longer any substance to be eaten is exposed to the air, the greater the chance that germs will be deposited on it. Bread raised with yeast is worked down or kneaded twice before being baked and this process may take anywhere from four hours to ten. It has, then, the chance of collecting disease germs during this process of raising and it has two periods of working down or kneading during each of which it may gather the dirt containing the germs from the baker’s

hands. As no bread save that raised with yeast, goes through this long process of raising and kneading so no bread save that raised with yeast has so good a chance of gathering germs. What is meant by “raising” bread is worth a few words. The introduction of the yeast into the moist dough and the addition of heat when the pan is placed the fire produces an enormous growth of the yeast fungi-the‘yeast “germ” in other words. These fungi effect a destructive fermentation of a portion of the starchy matter of the flour —one of the most valuable nutrient elements in the flour. The fermentation produces carbonic acid gas, and this, having its origin in every little particle of the starch, which is itself everywhere in the flour, pushes aside the particles of the dough to give itself room. This is what is called “raising the bread.” It needs but a glance to see that it is, in its effects on the dough, purely mechanical. The dough, which was before a close-grained mass, is now full of little holes, and when cooked in this condition is what we ordinarily call light. This porous quality of bread enables the stomach to rapidly and easily digest it, for the gastric juices quickly soak into and attack it from all sides. The fermentation

5 IA1) WITHOUT YEAST —“the MOST PERFECT OP Ali, CONCEIVABLE WAYS OF RAISING IT.”

othe dough, however, uses up a pction of the nutrient elements of thloaf. If it be possible, thereto}, to produce a light porous loaf wi out this destruction and without tht‘kneading” process, which fills through with germs and filth, and wiout the long period during whh the raising process goes on, theain in food and the' gain in the avCance of the germs is exceeding plain. It while we can easily see the danws which attend the use of yea it is certain that the vesicu-

kiting effect produced by it on the dough is to the last degree perfect. It is apparent that if we are to substitute any other system of bread making we must have one which will give us, first, mechanical results equally as good, that is, that will produce minute bubbles of carbonic acid gas throughout the mass of dough. Now it is in no way difj ficult to produce carbonic acid gas chemically, but when we are work--ing at bread wc must use such chemicals as are perfectly healthful. Fortunately these are not hard to find. The evils which attend the yeastmade bread are obviated by the use of a properly made, pure and wholesome baking powder in lieu of yeast. Baking powders are composed of an acid and an alkali which, if properly combined, should when they unite at once destroy themselves and produce carbonic acid gas. A good baking powder does its work while the loaf is in the oven, and having done it, disappears. But care is imperative in selecting the brand of baking powder to be certain that it is composed of noninjurious chemicals. Powders containing alum or those which are compounded from impure ingredients, or those which are not combined in proper proportion or carefully mixed and which will leave either an acid or an alkali in the bread, must not be used. It is well to sound a note of warning in this direction or the change from the objectionable yeast to an ! impure baking powder will be a case j of jumping from the frying pan into j the fire. The best baking powder made is, I as shown by analysis, the “Royal.” j It contains absolutely nothing but ] cream of tartar and soda, refined to a chemical purity, which when com- i bined under the influence of heat j and moisture produce carbonic acid gas, and having done this, disappear. Its leavening strength has been found superior to other baking powders, and as far as I know,it is the only powder which will raise large bread perfectly. Its use avoids the long period during which the yeast made dough must stand in order that the starch may ferment, and there is also no kneading necessary. The two materials used in the Royalj cream of tartar and soda, are perfectly harmless even when eaten. But they are combined in exact cornpens iting weights, so that when chemical action begins between them they practically disappear, the substance of both having been taken up to form the carbonic acid gas. More than this, the proper method of using the powder insures the most thorough mixing with the flour. The proper quantity being taken, it is mixed with the flour and stirred around in it. The mixture is then sifted several times and this insures that in every part of the flour there shall be a few particles of the powder. The salt and milk or water being added, the dough is made up as quickly as possible and moulded into the loaves. These are placed in the oven and' baked. But the very moment the warmth and moisture attack the mixture of cream of tartar and soda, these two ingredients chemically combine and carbonic acid or leavening gas is evolved. The conseIquence may be seen at a glance, the bread is raised during the time it is baking in the oven, and this is the most perfect of all concei vable methods of raising it. Here, then, there is no chance for germs of disease to get into the dough and thence into the stomach; more than that the bread is necessarily as sweet as possible, there

having been no time during which it could sour. This involves the fact that the bread so made will keep longer, as it is less likely to be contaminated by the germs that affect the souring process. It will be strange if the crowds of visitors to the World’s Fair do not greatly increase the number of contagious diseases, which we will have to treat. Under these circumstances is it not folly of follies to open a single channel through which these germs may reach us? Is it not the part of wisdom to watch with the

greatest care all that we eat and drink, and to see that none but the safest and best methods are employed in the preparation of our food? To me it seems as though there could be but one answer to questions like these. I have shown the danger of using the yeast raised bread, and with this I have shown how that danger may be avoided. The ounce of prevention which in this case is neither difficult nor expensive is certainly worth many pounds of cure, and the best thing about it is that it may be relied on almost absolutely. Those who eat bread or biscuits or rolls made at home with Royal baking powder may be sure they have absolutely stopped one channel through which disease may reach them. Note.— Housekeepers desiring information in regard to the preparation of the bread which, for sanitary reasons, Dr. Edson so strongly urges for general use, should write to the Royal Baking Powder Company, New York.

THE CORAL SEA. Lavish Display Under the Cool, Translucent Waves. Good Words. In no part of the world are the partly buried ocean wonders more lavishly displayed in all their endless variety than off the northeastern coast of Terra Australis, within the great barrier reef in the coral sea. As the boat is launched to take us ashore the wonders commence at once. It is surely some fairy forest, where elfin kings court princesses in fishy guise, or water babies sit and pout on some coral bowlder. Or is it a sub-marine flower garden whei-e the mermaids dwell? Deep down in the clear, bright water won- ; drous shapes and colors are seen, at i first indistinctly, like a tinted photoj graph out of focus; then as the water gets shallower and shallower, more and more distinctly flash the jewel fires, and the picture is complete. Large flat bowls of milk-white coral first attract the eye. Then others with branching antlers like a fallen deer, only the fairy herd are lying buried in a huge, confused mass. Some are covered with ten thousand sharp pinnacles of light purple color, each pinnacle having a bright blue eye—or what looks like an eye —at the extremity. All in a sea of emerald, this dream of enchantment. Wo fear before we see half the glory of it we might awake, and, alas! forget too soon. There light and feathery branches of fern-like coral are blushing a soft piiHc or pale nasturtium yellow. Mere large, solid masses of brain coral, round and white, the surface encrusted or engraved with the most delicate tracings, and others green and shaped like coarse moss.

MODERN CUT THROATS. Chinese Pirate? Defeat Three Gunboats and Secure a Rich Booty. San Francisco Examiner. The Shanghai papers contain a report, obtained from native advices from Canton, of a serious conflict between some piratical craft and gunboats at a place midway between Shaochow and Canton. It appears that while three gunboats belonging to the customs were escorting two boats laden with sycee, valued at tls. 40,000, belonging to the Hoihow Liken Customs, on their way to Canton, they were attacked by a numerous fleet of pirates, numbering, it is reported, over 600 men, and after a desperate fight, during which the Government men lost nearly sixty in killed and wounded the pirates made away with their booty. The reason given for the inability of the gunboats to protect their convoy was that they were all aground at the point whore they had anchored for the night, and the pirates being in shallow-bottomed boats manoeuvred effectually around the gunboats, which being completely raked fore and aft, were compelled at last to strike their colors, and there was a general' cry of sauve qui peut, leaving the pirates on the field. A Hidden Oanjter. St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Everhody has noticed the drops of moisture that collect on a cold day on the window panes of a room where a number of persons have assembled, but everybody does not know that this moisture is poisonous. If a few drops lie gathered and thrown on a red-hot stove the evaporation will give out a strong smell like burning hair or feathers. The condensed breath contains a large quantity of organic matter, and so 's rank poison.

Aluminium Horseshoes. ■ North Middleton, Ky,. Advance. The new aluminium horseshoes are not a howling success by any means, as was perdicted, and until it is tempered so as to stand necessary wear on the track, the metal for horseshoes is practically useless. John Tt Hedges of this place, who had a horse shod with the new shoes, had them removed at the end of two week’s wear, they being completely worn out.

EDISON’S HEROIC DEED. It Proved a Turning Point In the Great Inventor’ll I.ll'c. St. Nicholas. / His second venture in practical telegraphy was the turning-point of his life. The story is told as it was related to-the writer by Mr. J. U. Mackenzie, who during the early sixties was the station agent and operator at Mt. Clemens, Mich. As a newsboy Edison’s run took him twice a week through Mt. Clemens on the train known as the “mixed” division. The train reached that station between 10 and 11 a. m., and returned to Port Huron between 4 and 5 p. m. Young Edison was popular with the railroad-men, whom he delighted to entertain in his train laboratory with chemical experiments, and had made a stanch friend of the Mt. Clemens operator. Mr. Mackenzie and his wife and family lived over the station.

It was a summer day. The “mixed” arrived in good time, and the train was cut loose ahead of the baggagecar in order to pick up a car of freight on its way to Jackson. This left the passenger and, baggage car at the north end of the station platform. The engine and backed in on the freight-house track'' and pulled out the car on the main track, without a brakeman, giving it a gentle push toward the baggage car. The track was very level. “My son, then two and a half years old," said Mr. Mackenzie, “unobserved by his nurse, had strayed upon the main track and was amusing himself throwing pebbles, when Edison, who stood near with papers under his arm, turned and saw the child’s danger. Throwing aside his papers, he plunged between the cars just in time to drag himself and the child clear of the approaching cars. Excepting scratches, both escaped without injury. The act was heroiA and our gratitude was unbounded. I was just then unable, however, to substantially reward the young hero. Then I remembered his absorbing interest in telegraphy. Many a time I had driven him from the office, for his curiosity led him into all sorts of mischief, to my annoyance, “ ‘ Al,’ I said, ‘stop at Mount Clemens from 11 a. m. until 4 p. in. several days each week, and I will perfect you as an operator and get you a position.’ This offer was eagerly accepted.

‘‘Edison soon had erected a lino from the station tank to my brother-in-law’s sleeeping rooirf over the station. The instruments used were made by Edison’s own hands at a gun-shop in Detroit. In construction ard operation they were perfect. Subsequently the boy put up a perfectly equipped working linS from the station to the village drugstore—a distance of one mile. It worked very well in the fine, dry weather during which it was built, but the first rainy day rendered it useless. It could hardly have been otherwise, for nine-tenths of the line was fastened with mere penny nails to the cedar of a snake-stake. There were no insulatirs of any kind, and the line was what is knowfa as stovepipe annealed wire. Excepting two paid messages sent over this line, the whole was a financial failure. “One day while the line was in operation A1 rushed into my office, his eyes electric sparks. “ ‘Mr. Mackenzie,’ he cried, T can send two messages at the same time over a single wire!’ “‘Away with your nonsense!’ I replied, and drove him out of the of fice. After the Boston trial in which Edison’s claim to the invention re the ‘duplex’ was contested, Irecalle 1 to him the incident. “ ‘Had I had your evidence, Mack enzie,’ said the inventor in reply, ‘it would have saved me $300,000.’ ” In three months the pupil excelled the master, who had no hesitation in recommending him to the telegraph superintendent. Edison became night operator at Stratford, Ontario. 1 Young Mackenzie now rides the largest bicycle in the United States, and is a trusted man in his rescuer’s employ.

Punishment of Crime. St. Louis Globe Democrat. A New York Prison Association was formed in 1869. The Howard Prison Association was formed in 1866. The Persians did not punish murderers for the first offense. , The witchcraft laws in England were not repealed until 1736. The bastinado is still a favorit* punishment in Turkey and Egypt. Egypt has every year 33,000 arrests for some variety of crime. French criminals were condemned to the galleys as late as 1650. Nearly one-half the murderers in this country are unmarried. During the Saxon heptarchy murder was penished only by fines. The Mosaklaw prescribed an eye for an eye, aWth for a tooth.