The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-01-17
Disease Turks on skin of Fruits.

(From Chicago Tribune.)
Danger of disease, death perhaps,
hides on the surface of every piece
of fruit. and the rosy cheek of the
apple or the purple covering of the
grape may be using its attractiveness
only to lure you on to your DOOM
This startling state of affairs is laid
before the public in a report recently
issued by DR.. B. Enrich, a physician
of Strassburg, who has just concluded
a series of experiments at the Insti-
tute of Hygiene and Bacteriology in the
university of that city.
That the infection of fruit with bac-
terra to such an extent as the report
of DR.. Enrich shows will be a gen.
eral surprise even in these days, when
we are suspicious of the water. the
street car strap. the public drinking
cup and practically we come in con-
tact with.
MILLIONS OF BACTERIA.
But that half a pound of cherries
should be carrying around 100000
bacteria, each one of which may be
aiming to destroy your life, with a
good chance of succeeding, is a bit of
startling information.
Wash all fruit thoroughly says
DR.. Ehrlich, and it may come that
Chicgo will have to add this warning
to its present Boil the water
The variety of diseases that can be
carted along in this manner is sur
prising, but the most fatal plaques are
classed in the list
WORSE THAN THE VEGETABLES.
1t has been known that vegetables
could be held responsible for the
transmission of much sickness, acting
as vehicles for the germs of disease;
indeed, there have been cases where
epidemics have been traced to the vege-
tables, but much of the danger of this
was neutralized by the cooking of the
food. However, that fruit, which usu-
ally is eaten practically in its orig
inal state, holds so great peril is
a more serious matter.
Few are in the habit of washing
fruit, and still fewer remove the skins
Or peel Thus the bacteria has every
possible chance to enter the system
and do his deadly work.
In the. condition in which it is placed
upon the market, the surface of fruit
is almost always unclean; on the
surface millions of microscopic crea-
lures exist. 1t has already been proven.
that in certain cases cholera, typhus
and even tuberculosis have been trans.
mitted in this way. The danger can.
be partially obviated by peeling or
washing the fruit.
In order to determine the degree of
uncleanliness in market fruit. DR..
Ehrlich washed fruit of various kinds
and then ascertained by reliable
process the numbers of bacteria thus
removed. In this manner he found
that 200 grams (about half pound) of
the fruits examined supported upon
their surface bacteria in the following
numbers: Huckleberries, 00.00O: dam
sons. 100000; mirabels yellow plums),
100000: pears, 100000; gooseberries,
100000; garden strawberries 1000, 900:
raspberries, 100000; grapes, 5000, 600:
currants, 100000, and cherries, 12,-
000,O
These figures teach how necessary it
is that all fruit should be cleaned be-
fore it is eaten. In view of his ex-
periments, DR.. Enrich recommends
that before fruit is eaten it should
always be washed, preferably in
running water, and that the washing
should be repeated when dry matter
is observed to be adhering to the
fruit