Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-09-18
KITCHEN SANITATION.
How TO Battle with Microbes and Bacteria
In the COmmIasnrv.

Correspondence OF the Dispatch)
BOSTON. MASS. September H.-1t Is
bcfittng New England housewives should
be the prime movers in establishing sanl-
tary-scIence lectures for housekeepers.
Led by Mrs. Ellen T. Richards. the we'll
known chemist and sanitarian. few
have gathered together. and raised BAN
ner Inscribed, "Oikology." Ostensibly II Is
the science OF home life. In reality II
means a reiuvenation OF New England
tradition. Scrub and be clean" New
Workers term the science. domestic
Sanitation" while Chicago digniiies IL as
Hygiene Living"
Call 1t what we may OF woman's five
talents, which Ruskin says II Is her
prerogative 10 administer to the people.
"To find them and ITO keep them
orderly" have not hitherto been applied
by the general housekeeper with any
degree of hygienic or sanitary knowledge
Many sanitarlans ascribe much OF the I'M
accountable visi,ations Of sickness to
want of judgment In conducting the
kitchen part OF the domestic machine.
The society Of oikologists intend to
bring sanitation to bear in every detail
OF the home. especially in the kitchen.
that depot for good and bad household
material. They propose to offer TO the
young housekeeper just starting out the
lesson OF the German. who presented 10
his daughter on her wedding-day minia-
ture caskct. telling her TO carry II. every
day for three years to the Kitchen, the
cellar. and the stable. keeping 1t in each
place for three minutes. At the end of
the appointed time 1t was opened. and
found to contain this inscriptions: 'The
eye of the mistress is worth hundred
uairs Of servants hands,
Such a habit passed from the fatherland
through Puritan blood. seems to be re-
tanned by some wealthy women. whose
ancestors started in Germany for we find
such homes as the Astors, Nanderbilts.
and Rhnclanders. and others, managed
upon strict principles Of sanitation. The
watchful word, If not eye. of Mrs Var
derbnt keeDs hoalthful condition in Der
kitchen and laundries. where twenty or
more servants are serving a family OF
six.
A SANTTARIAN.
Quality of surroundings. however. does
not preclude dirt or bad management
and this the oikologist proposes to i'm
press upon rich as well as poor house
keepers. Every woman should be a sani-
tartan, when she steps into her Kitchen.
She should know the danger of n steam
laden atmosphere TO health. the fine Guy
ture medium afforded microbes by garb-
age left exposed to the air and what
greasy, sime-covered sink or wash-tub
may do toward communicating food and
drinking water. She should realize that
dust raised into the air by sweeping con-
tans body carnations. bacteria blown
in from the street or by way OF cellar.
or through Gecayng refuse. the market
stores. soiled linen. clothing and so on.
Science is revealing the ever present
microbe in increasing numbers. at the
same time assuring us that sunlight and
air are potent disinfectants. We should
not be gingerly Of these remedies. but
see to IL that the kitchen is kept purified
by them. Scalding water is a germ killer
which. with common sal soda should be
applied daily to the kitchen sink. There
IS no need Of that feature Of food faint
being what it is in thousands Of homes.
It is a menace to food. air. and to the
health.
MAY MEAN TROUBLE.
Vegetables and fruits not to be cooked
should never be left upon the sink. a
touch of its grease or slime may mean
serious trouble TO a sensitive system. Food
of all kinds ought to be removed at once
TO clean places. where cir is secluded
Garbage and household dirt are too often
allowed to stand around a kitchen, await
ing for disposal and doing harm TO health
by sending efluvia containing bacteria
into the air. Prompt disposal should he
the rule, either by fire. to a metal re-
ceptacle. kept in open air, or buried In
the ground. Mother Earth is a valuable
disinfectant. Put Il handful on your gar
bage-pail. and its nfntesimal life will
proceed to change all to earth, sweet and
odorless.
Accommodations Of rags and rubbish are
pernicious. Holding dust. generating YER
min, and filing space that should be pure
and taintless. Where old woodwork and
plumbing exist. eternal vigilance. with
washing, scrubbing. and disinfectant IA
little pewsem or corrosive subimate in
water are necessary safeguards. Dust
upon lodges, lintels. chimney-places, and
starways may hold bacteria to begin
deadly work when fuffed into Tugs or
upon food by haphaZard cleaning. a
kitchen should never be swept; washing
and wiping are the sanitary means. Soiled
linen must not be shaken where food Is
preparing. Body emanations from well
or sick people are disgusting and contami-
mating.
Air penetrates, when steamy. further
than when dry, for the specific heat OF
steam is about five to four. Dust col
lected from a kitchen has been found to
contain bacteria capable OF causing dis
ease weeks afterward BY food and drink
we take in certain diseases. The moral
then, from kitchen sanitation, should try
to keep both sources perfectly pure, which
means rigid. hygienic cleanliness. plenty
of air. light, and no dust in the depot OF
distribution. VI. V. SHALER.
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