The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-08-06
USEFULNESS OF BACTERIA.


Kansas City Star.
So much has been said about germs in
the water and elsewhere lately that there
is likely to be a wrong impression as to
their part in the economy of nature. The
whole family of bacteria is blamed for the
misdeeds of few members. If the germs
were able to speak for themselves they
would object as vigorously to being set
down disease mongers as the American
people would protest against being called
a nation of murderers because there are a
few criminals in the country. You could
not live without u.s." they might be ex-
pected to say. land yet, because we in
clude few scoundrels, you give the whole
tribe bad name"
The fact is that only a few of the mil
lions on millions of bacteria are enemies of
mankind. The rest are stanch allies of the
race. Wherever they may be-and their dis
tribution is nearly universal-they are al
ways at work in behalf of their master.
They scrub his drinking water clean, they
purify his air, they furnish food for the
vegetation which supports him and the ami
mails upon which he lives. Were it not for
the activity of these microscopic living
PARTICLES, says Prof. A. g. Abbott, of the
University of Pennsylvania, ''all life upon
the surface of the earth would cease. De-
prive higher vegetation of the carbon and
nitrogen supplied to ii as a result of bac-
terial activity, and it's development comes
rapidly to an end; rob the animal kingdom
of the foodstuffS supplied to ii by the vege-
table world, and life is no longer possible"
Sometimes the activity of these indus
trious bacteria is distaSteful to the chief
beneficiaries Putrefaction or fermenta-
ton, due TO the work of the germs, oc-
casonally distresses the housekeeper who
abominates added eggs and doesn't like
looks at the situation from another and,
in the long run, more nearly correct
point of view Here is lot of dead
fruit" he may be imagined as saying to
himself as he climbs into a barrel Of ap-
pies. Its doing nobody any good and
so long as ii stays in this shape it's hold
ing out from the soil a lot of material that
ought to go back for theause of growing
plants. The roots can't do anything with
a solid apple, you know. I'll get busy and
tear it to pieces 50 that it will do vegeta-
ton some good.
OF course, the bacterium doesn't know
that the people of the house intend to eat
the apples. All vegetable matter he re-
CARDS as his legitimate prey. 1t makes no
difference to him whether the fruit is ly-
ing abandoned on the ground or is care
fully stored in the cellar. In either case
it's his business to set to work to reduce
1t to its original mineral and gaseous con-
stituents. Ii he failed in his duty the re-
sources of the earth would finally all be
tied up in forms unavailable for human
use. The bacterium keeps things moving
so that the original elements of the Soil
are at last returned to it again.
The germ can't be caught and trained
like domestic animal. The only way to
protect food and other things from his
onslaught is to study his habits and take
advantage of them. This is being done
more and more. 1t is known, for instance,
that while low temperature doesn't kill
the bacterium, he can't get around in it.
Therefore, cold storage protects fruit and
meat and eggs from his attack. The heat
of boiling water is found to be deadly to
him. So if jars of fruit are sealed and
boiled they safe. Thus it is possible
useful bacteria might do while they are
given a free hand in most of their opera
lions.
There is no occasion for blaming the
germs indiscriminately The world would
soon come to an unhappy end by starva-
ton without them.