The Progress., 1893-08-19

without being in the body OF human
being, provided always you give them
the proper conditions. These cOndi-
tions are to be found in dough which
is being raised with yeast. They are
warmth, moisture and the organic
matter of the -four on which the
germs, after certain changes, feed.
1t is necessary to remember at this
point that yeast is germ growth, and
when introduced into a mixture OF
glucose or starch, in the presence of
warmth and moisture, sets up a fer
mentation. IL the mixture be a
starchy dough the yeast first changes
a portion of the starch into glucose
and then decomposcs the glucose by
changing it into two substances, viz. &,
carbonic acid gas and alcohol.
Now the gluten. which is also a
constituent of dough and moist
starch, affords, with the latter, an
excellent indus for the development of
germs of disease as well as for the
yeast germs. The germs of cholera,
as of typhoid fever, would, if intro
duced into dough, find very favorable
conditions for their growth.
! do not wish to pose as an
alarmist. nor am ! willing to say
there is very much chance of the
germs of typhus and of cholera reach.
ing the stomachs of the people who
eat bread which has been raised with
yeast. But have not the slightest
cause to doubt that other diseases
have been and will be carried about
in the bread.
/ have met journeymen bakers, suf-
fering from cutaneous diseases, work
ing the dough in the bread trough
with naked hands and arms. | have
no reason to suppose bakers are less
liable to cutaneous diseases than are
other men, and | know, as every
housewife knows, yeast-raised bread
must be worked a long time. This is
an exceedingly Objectionable thing
from the standpoint of physician for
the reason that the germs of the dis
ease which are in the air and dust and
on stairways and straps in street cars,
are most often collected on the hands
Any person who has ever kneadcd
dough understands the way which the
dough cleans the hands. This means
that any germs which may have found
lodging place on the hands of the
baker before he makes up his batch
OF bread are sure 10 find their way in
to the dough, and once there. to find
all the conditions necessary for subdi-
vision and growth. This is equive-
lent 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
form which every man and woman
has seen.
1t is belief as old as the hills that
bread is unhealthful. This !
reputation has been earned for it by
the experience of countless genera
tions, and no careful mother will |
wish her children to eat bread that |
has not been thoroughly cooked. |
The reason given for this recognized |
has been that the un-
cooked yeast dough is very difficult to
digest. No one but physician /
would be apt to think of disease
germs which have not been killed .
during the process of baking as a
cause of the sickness following the
use of uncooked yeast bread. Yet
this result from this cause is more
than probable. | 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 of this sequence of events.