The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-08-23
moRr ABOUT PrLi.AGnA.


 That sstssmsd contemporary. The Pine Bsit News. has been diseoursins on the subject of peiiaxra and its causes. and winds up an editorial on the subject as follows:
 Our advice is to quit using western co. n. steam cured, buying that rsisod use ss bread, anu having i, srouni into meal at home. Let every farmer in this way sid In Approving the tss- ory that peiiagre as caased ey eating ernnient s' ould take an active hand n endeavoring to fnd . rcm,dy for the to S Keep n eating aS yhS~ ouy SSecsMs W and % n,af- | fin bread. made from freshly grou d home ra sed corn. Let us hear from | the Corn Bread Editor of The Mont somery Advertiser on the subject Welt. "the Corn Bread Editor has more than once expressed the opinion that there would be little danger of the disease, in Alabama for example, | if 1t can be made possible for the peo- pie of the State to quit eating bread made from the kind of Western corn that is shipped here, and In its placr use only that which Is raised at home As we have heretofore stated. the farmers here. as a general thing. do not gather their corn until it is fully ripe; then they select sound ears and send them to mill to be ground into good and wholesome meal.
 By fortunate coincidence. we had hardly finished reading the editorial in The News when we found in the current issue of The Charlotte observ- CT q letter on the subject from Dr William T. Woody. from which we quote somewhat liberally. as The ob- server speaks highly of the writer. and he so thoroughly bears out what we have heretofore said on the subject that We are glad to add his testimony He says:
 It would be strange indeed. if pel- lagra should become prevalent on the the corn retained for bread is subject to zero weather which prevents fe"- mentation. while large. portion or the surplus corn Is stoI vd in .ne' srs.s elevators of the West to be shipped in closed cars to the South. aud owing to its uncured condition undergces fer. mentation in transit. and is received at Ss aaoana into n pessra sa so be disposed by the merchants to their customers hence the. prevalence Of pellagia in the South.
 Again, the comparatively new meth cd Of curing corn in the shock Is the cause of the greater prevalence of pei- lagra in tho South. and the begin. ming of .pellagra in the west. not that wrong. but because the corn in the shock is stored in bulk before it Is cured. It requires at least sixty days 1t does to cure it standing in the field, and yet the farmers husk and store the shocked corn at the same time they harvest the ield-cured corn. ing and storing corn before cold weather. which causes fermentation and said to he the cause of bella gra. tioM fete Ist the 'S miiisrs s'g grind a no e sSrn into meal unles. 1t is cured for them under contract. It should be stated Tn contract that the fodder must not all of the nutriment possible: that the corn must be cured on the stalk stand ing in the field uHtil cold weather and fully cured. as evidenced. by the cob  ventilated harms. Adopt this method nf curing corn for milling purposes and if fermented corn is the cause of pel- lagra the cause win he forever rernov. ed.
 As pr. Woody argues. the disease should not prevail in the South. and 1t will not If if can be made possible to get a sufficiency of homS-raised and home-curea corn for our own use. but if We are to be fed with the kind of which the Doctor speaks. we may ex- pect pellnEra to prevail in the South. Possibly the disease. and the dread of it. may really be e blessing in dis guise, and may give an added impetus to corn farming in the South. and. by the aid of what is known as the Will Hanson method. may bring the time when the bread eaters of our section will not have to depend on the West for corn. or risk their lives by eating the kind that is so often shipped here, Perhaps 1t may not be possible or practicable. but if 1t were so 1t would be right to stop the shipment of this heated and diseased product rom the West If this cannot be done, the next best thinR--and the thing that ought to come about is for our farmers to raise more corn. and relieve us. both from dependence on other sections and from dread of disease.
 Like the editor of The News. we shall continue to eat bread or other preparations made of corn. but we must confess that we have of late been having some spells of uneasiness over the possible effects of eating Western products. We can get diseases enough without importing them by train loads.
 coon CITIZENSHIP IN ACTION.