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Show GOOD FOOD IS INDISPENSABLE PRECAUTION AGAINST BACTEPJA Healthy Body Has Power of Resistance and Good Digestion Ensures Power to Throw Off Disease Absolute Cleanliness Essential EVERY HOUSEKEEPER NEEDS TO HAVE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT GERMS Also How to Destroy Them Boil All Utensils and Drinking Water Not All Bacteria are Harmful J to Human System By H. IRVING HANCOCK contains. It would bo difficult to conceive con-ceive of anything 6lmpler than these bacteria a fact lost siclit of by illustrators illus-trators for sensational Sunday newspapers, news-papers, who ofton delight to portray the "verm" of notno particular disease dis-ease as a weird and awful looking animal, with head of terrifying aspect and lops that clve one the "creeps." Such silly drawings perpetuate the Ignorance that they pretend to Illumine. Il-lumine. Bacteria Multiply. One of tho most marvelous characteristics char-acteristics of bacteria !a the speed with which they multiply a few hun-dred hun-dred such germs within a few hours becoming as many millions. This reproduction re-production of species is brought about in a mot primitive way. A slnghj bacterium grows in slzo until it "splits" and becomes two bacteria. This goes on indefinitely and rapidly as Ion? as tho bacteria are surrounded surround-ed by enough food. The easiest, surest Way of killing bacteria is to boil them in water for at least twenty minutes. Thus the ponns on a 6u;pected dish, utensil, cloth, or in drinking water Itself, are destroyed. It has been contended often, of-ten, by Mcientitlc men, that bolllnj? doee not kill the sioros of such germs as reproduced in that way. It is probable, prob-able, however, that such spores as escape tho boiling havo lest most of their vitality. Not all xerms aro harmful. On the contrary many of tbo normal processes pro-cesses of the body depend upon the presence of beneficial bacteria. Other bacteria arc useful n tho industrial proc-e.sses, such as cheese-making, hide-tanning and the "ripening" of natural fertilizers. Wherever there is putrefying dcay of flesh, vegetables or plants, bacteria aro at work, performing per-forming the beneficial labor of converting con-verting spent organic materials inio substances that can he used again for tho maintenance of life in one of Its varied forms. Germs Feed on Surroundings. How do disease-cauhlng germs work in tho human body? Bacteria, like all plants and animals, feed on their surroundings- ttlscaijo-gernu secrete withlu tbemeelves many kinds of I mint. to poisonous substances which, ' when turned into tho blood-steam, poison the human being himself. These bacterial poisons, according to their several natures, produce tho well-known symptoms of many danger ous diseases. In tho household, germs are to be routed with scrupulous cleanliness, wholesomenesB, sunshine and pure air In any kind of dirt or putrefaction" bacteria are likely to lodge and thero reproduce, ready to bo transferred to the human system and work Incalculable Incal-culable harm. That is why the dirt that Is overlooked in corners, which hides beneath carpets or is wedged into the cracks of floors, is a 60urco of danger. Such dirt can ho rendered practically harmless by tho use of germicides and antiseptics, and by plenty of sunlight, for it Is a well-established well-established fact (hat the direct rays of the suu are fatal to bacteria. Depends on Digestion In the human body tho degree of evil success with which bacteria can attack depends upon one's health. If digestion be perfect, nourishment j thorough and tho Mood-stream sound and pure, the subject lias the best I possiblo protection against germ-caused diseases. Ilia healthy blood Is in condition to resist and throw off the effect of otherwise dangerous amount of bacterial ioisons. Tho ailing, the unnourlshod, tho anemic are astly more likely to fall prey before and succumb to microblc disease. Yet those who ae apparently healthy will not do wlsel to disregard disre-gard all precautions agalnir.lmnnfol germs. Tho srn atest of precautions Is cleanliness about tin- household and the person. It should always be remembered re-membered never to kivo fued or 1 drink exposed where the wind may blow dust parti'.lrs to It. for bacteria, on accouu; of their infinite lightness, aro whirled alonr; with the dust that Is carried on the breeze. This' fact, too, furnishes us with a reason for wah- j lug or carefully wiping all fruit and vegetables brought in from out-of-doors. I Ijo not. however, closo tho windows I against bacteria, for tho outer w hid l will do more good than harm in the i room, and the .sun's rays, if freely nl' I muted, will perform gigantic germ icidal tasks. Germ-diseases are not ! to be morbidly dreaded, but lntclli-i lntclli-i gently guarded against. IN the averaco mind there is a good deal of uncertainty regarding tho nature of germs. While wo all know that (hey aro "somelhUit; bad." general knowledge of them Jbcsn't go much further. Undoubtedly Undoubted-ly this is because the averago reader thinks he couldn't understand much . about tho matter, anyway. Much to the contrary, tho general nature of perms tan be made plain within the limits of a abort article. Tho first popular misconception to he got right la the notion that germs aro tiny, raJseroseopic animals. True, one minute kind of germs, known under the impressive title of the protozoa, do belong be-long to the animal kingdom. Hut when we refi r to germs wo usually mean bacteria, and these latter aro plants, invisible to tho naked eye, and consisting of but one cell each. Thcso plants are closely related to, though distinct from, yeast cells and molds. A bacterium Is therefore to ho considered con-sidered as a minutely small fungus, being simply a one-celled plant, consisting con-sisting of an outer membrano aud the protoplasm, or living mattor, that It |