Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-04-10
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
Definition Of Some Of tho Common
Terms Used by Dairymen But Not
Always Understood.

To the Editor Of the Free Press:
1t is claimed that the Massachusetts,
Legislature Is, with the possible exception
Of Congress. the leading legislative body
In the world Practice makes perfect"
and that may have something to do with
its pre-eminence. heard a member Of the
committee on agriculture in that body call
bacteria little bugs and some of the COM
inittee did not seem to know precisely
what paste urize and sterilixe mean, and
that set me to looking the matter up a lit
tle
| find that bacteria, microbes, germs and
spores are sometimes used as though they
all meant the same thing. Bacteria comes
from word that means rod shaped lex
trcricly small rods) We need micro
scope to be able to see microbes, hence the
name. Germ lis the beginning of things. ;
spores "a sowing" When they were first
discovered, they were said to be On The
borderline between animal and vegetable,
hut POW they are said to be vegetable.
There is great variety OF them and they
are of different sizes and shapes. Ten
thousand of the larger kind, il they were
fill grown and we'll favored, placed in
touch on a line would reach an Inch. Of
the smallest kinds it would take $4,000 to
make limo an inch long. Scientists have
to color them before they can see them.
They fructify. CT propagate in different
ways under different circumstances but
the most common way Is by lateral ifs
SION Il took that from the book. In
liquids at tn. most favorable Temperature
IT to SO degrees-they increase In leng tn
for about 20 minutes and then break of,
then do SO some more. They are In the
air and all about US and 1t IL almost ir.-
possible for Us to be rid of them and l
suppose II is not often that We would wish
to he rid Of them. Antiseptic surgery is
only a few years old, but now surgeons
take the greatest care to exclude them
from the wounds they dress and antiseptc
surgery Is a great success.
If a sterilized glass bottle was filed with
milk that had been drawn from, COW =
udder with so much care that no germs
could get into it and the tcttle was corke,l
With stertlized cork and properly sealed
that milk would keep indefinitely. If a pail
OF milk drawn from a cows udder in the
usual way was allowed to stard In the
open air in a warm day. 1t would soon have
millions of germs in it. There would be
en-" kind of bacteria in 1t that would pro-
duce Tactic acid, or souring and when that
process was complete, that kind would die,
and another kind that would produce pu-
trefaction. and the destructive process
would go on rapidly In summer day.
1 remember hearing Professor Hills say
that a dead dog lying in the street would
continue to lie there II there We're no bac.
terra to cause the process Of destruction
Cold retards the action of the germs, and
If it is intense enough will stop it but II
does not kill them.
Fnsteur taught that n temperature Of
lS degrees would kill germs and hence
comes the term pasterrize. l think exper-
fence has taught that It Is necessary to
continue tho heat for sometime. and even
then 1t Is not sure to lii them all.
To steril,ze lis to kill all Ct the germs and
sometimes requires temperature Of Il.
/ cterees or more
| Cream Is SAID to be ripe and ready tc
chuin when 1t is SQUIRT should not pc
very sour. II Is always bacteria that cause
the ripenirg process and some kinds give
the butter better flavor than ether kinds
Science has discovered that the good kline
can be cultured or produced III the ls.born
tory. II the milk is pesteurizrd bctorc
ser oration, or the cream after separation
and the culture is introduced at cnca tn:
butter maker has control of tho matter tc
a considerable extent. In practice, ! I'M
lueratS End that the culture is usually pu,
into the cream without d. stroyirg the ba .
terra that are in II snd that on account Of
the greater vigor and activity of the nea
kind. they largely d'splacc the others,
In the natural process Of grow tn Ct anj
|r1als or Vegetables, i am not aware tina,
bacteria have any part But when the on
posite process commences bacteria are al
| ways present and arc the main cause Of
decay. We like to have our meat get rim.
ard tender end our fruit get mellow an,
digest before we eat 1t and we ar,
benefited by some of tho results Of fer
mentation. but these things are general,
caused by bacteria and are the first stage.
of decay ana obstruction. Sunshine is sal,
to be one of natures meet powerful ger
micides. In health the acids of the stom
ach are supposed to kill the Harmful
germs that enter II.
For % or 10 years the fact has been wei
proven that thera are diseases that ar,
properly called germ diseases. The partic
uiar kinds Of serms that produce anthrax
tuberculosis, typhoid fever, scarlet feyrr
elysipslas diphthefia ana several other
have bs.n Identified and described. 7
wsu'd b impose.bls fer a person n hav,
any one Of these unlsss they in ssns va,
bscdme innoculsted with the rarticula
kind OF germ that py odlcts that disease
They must cone from their own germ l,ls
as surely a. wheat, cvrn or snlons esr,
from their own seed each after tie kind
There IL no spontaneous production here
He re6ity and q