The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1893-08-19

when introduced into mixture of glu-
warmth and moisture sets up fer
mentation. If the mixture be starchy
dough the yeast first changesa portion
of the starch into glucose and then de-
composes the glucose by changing it
into two new substances, viz, carbonic
acid gas and alcohol.
Now the gluten, which is also con-
stituent 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 introduced into dough,
find very favorable conditions for their
growth.
list, nor am 1 willing to say there is
very much chance of the germs of
typhus and of cholera reaching the
stomachs of the people who eat bread
which has been raised with yeast.
But while am.not afraid that cholera
and typhus will be greatly spread by
ycast-raised bread, / have not the
Slightest cause to doubt that other dis
eases 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. ] suppose
need scarcely say this was put stop
10 in very short order. / have no rea-
son to suppose bakers are less liable to
cutaneous diseases than are other
men, and 1 know, as every house
wife knows, yeast-raised bread
must be worked q long time. This
is an exceedingly Objectionable
thing from the standpoint of a physi-
clan, and for the reasons that the
| germs of disease which are in the air
and dust and on stairways and straps
in street cars, are most often collected
on the hands. So well do physicians
know this that there is no ablution
practical equal to that which they un-
dergo before they perform any kind of
surgical operation. Any person who
has ever kneadcd dough understands
the way in which the dough cleans the
hands. In other words, 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 to find their way into
the dough, and once there, to find all
the conditions necessary for subdi-
vision 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 doughty bread is a form
which every man and woman has seen
1t is belief as old as the hills that
underdonc bread is unheulthful. 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 unhealthful
ness has been that the uncoolsed yeas
dough is very difficult to digest, ant
this reason has value. No one but {
physician would be apt to think of dis
ease germs which have not been killed
during the process of baking as ,
cause of the sickness following thu
use of uncookcd yeast bread. Yet thii
result from this cause is more thar
probable. have not the slightes
doubt that could we trace back somt
of the cases of illness which we NEE
in our practice we would find tina
germs collected by the baker have
found their way into the yeast bread
that the heat has not been sufficient t.
destroy them, that the uncoolSed yeas
bread has been eaten and with it th
colonies Of germs, that they hav
found their way into the blood ant
that the call for our services whicl
followed, has rounded off this sequences
of events.
have already pointed out that tn
germs of disease are to be found Il
the air and dust. The longer any sub
stance to be eaten is exposed to tn
air, the greater the chance that germ
will be deposited ON 1t. Bread raise,
with yeast is worked down or kneadc,
twice before being baked and this pre-
cess may take anywhere from fou
ho.rs to ten. 1t has, then, the chanc
OF collecting disease germs during thi
process of raising and 1t has two peri
DDS Of working down or kneading dvl