Evening star., 1897-03-10

real coffee Is ordered that you get Postum aad |
not spurious imitation offered as Just as good
efforts to discover the exact nature of the |
poison germs. However, it has been possi- |
BILE to separate in a fairly pure form the |
antftoXic principle from diphthera serum |
minute amount of which will confer i'm
munity, and the anttoXic principle of swine |
plague, .0o2 G. of which has been found to
cure animals weighing one pound, and even
solid antitoXic-like substance for tuber-
culosis has been obtained in impure
form. All these solid antitoxic principles
resemble each other very closely in their
chemical tests and methods of separation,
showing aibuminoid reaction, but in their
curative properties they are totally indie
i,en3ent the one of the other The difficult
" OF separating these antitoxins complete
~ from the other constituents of the blood
mas made 1t impossible as yet to obtain
Positive information as to their true chem
zeal character AS to their action. One
theory is that they directly neutraiZe the
roison which the germ produced. but this
does not seem to be substantated by ex-
pertinent.
Serum From Snakes.
THE diphtheria anti-toxic serum does
not cure tetanus. the swine plague serum
does not cure the cholera In the case
of the venom of serpents it has been found
too. that repeated injections will make the
serum of an animal anti-toxic and curative
rum, too, produced by the cobra venom
will protect against the bite of the rattle
snake. 1t would seem from this that there
is very close relationship between the
poisonS of venomouS snakes, and that i'm
munity to one also gives protection from
the other. 1t seems very probable also
that the poisons of germs belonging to the
same germs will be closely allied and that
an snti-toXin for one Will also be an anti
toxin for the other In fact, it has been
demonstrated that the products of the coli
eommunfs viii protect animals from ,,., the
typhoid germ to which it is closely allied.
The same will probably be found true with
many other diseases where the germs are
closely related
they almost free from germs, but ex-
posed to the air they soon become filled
with these form of life which are per
fectly harmless. If placed under suitable
conditions with regard to temperature they
| viii multiply very readily and the milk
| becomes sour. due to the formation of
| Tactic acid proahcri from the sugar in the
milk by 6r''Iftore of these germs If
| the germs present happen to be those CIV
| ing an ether ard ester which have pleas
ant flavor and aroma good butter results,
| but if they give rise to the formation of
disagreeable THO etherS and eSterS or some
| amines the butter is poor and bad.
Isolation of Germs.
Now. by lisolating different germs
| found in the milk and cultivating them
| separately so as to discover their own pc
| culiar product It is possible to always make
| butter of the same sort and flavor by first
| destroying the Sthsr germs present by Pas
| teuriZation and then inoculating the cream
| with the PARTICULAR germ desired. y num-
| ber of germs have been Isolated from milk
| which will produce good butter and any
one Of them IS perhaps as good as the
other, the ethereal product being slightly
| different and more palatable to different
| individuals. OF course, a great many
germs have been found which produce dis
| agreeable compounds, and 1t is not posi-
| BILE to tell from their appearance simply
which be a desirable plant, but it is easy
to cultivate them in a small quantity of
| milk and note the results and select the
! desirable plant cell.
| fortunately unfortunately the use
| of these germs has been patented, so that
in the near future We may see branded
| upon particularly fine buffers and cheese
! patented in 1898. amended 1896, reissued
| 1908, &c. May we expect soon patented
process for breathing, eating and sleeping
| Possibilities In the Microbc.
Recently it has been found, too, that
I malt If inocuated with particular germ
| from the skin of the grape will be con-
verted into wine, and it is certainly not
beyond the limits of possibilities that in
the near future. American beer after a
| voyage to France may return excellent
champagne.
"The flavor of many luscious fruits and
foods is due to the products either di-
rectly lnuTectiy-OI one or more OF
these useful pant cells. But it is not only
in simple industrial processes that the
products Of germs are important. Man
very existence while menaced on the one
! hand by Il few germs, is on the other
dependent upon their activity. The germs
which in the soil produce nitrous and nj
| tric acid and ammonia and aid their as
simiiation by the plants which facilitate
the decomposition of pnosphates and iri1g
| the PHOSPHORUS, a so necessary constitu-
| ent for the life of plants and animals, into
! an assimilable form, and aid in the de-
| struction of dead vegetable matter. play
an important but little appreciated part
| in the continuance of the life and well be-
| ing of man, and On the other hand what
| role these similar germs play in the for
| nation of poisonous alkaloids has not been
| thoroughly learned. When we find too
| germ (as had been done recently that can
| convert starch into ceiulose we are al
most led to wonder if Ii might not be pos
| sible to produce cotton i'll a culture flask
| nutritious food and sufficient amount
| of carbon dioxide, oxygen and water
| We might spend months in speaki,s; of
| the many other ways in which the pro-
! ducts of the dreaded bacteria are us, ful to
| mankind, and note those which Weld ex-
may be made practically useful But
these, ard many other germs are only
| waiting mans bidding TO become valuable
subjects and to show that as has been
instaLced In the history Of nations, con-
quered people often make the best and
wisest citizens
STAR If anybgdy mas what you wish, you
viii get an ans&efl. -='-
| 4r@t
"GindcreII4y by Children