Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1914-03-17
Helps for the Housskeeper.
,,pp on room IN THE HONE

isfied with any kind OF food whton ma
been prepared and cared for In any care.
less way, that their families have some
thing to cover their back and roof over
their heads, 10 not the sum total OF tue
modern home. makers duty.
Much of the home makers time 10
spent In irving to keep clean. For cen
turtles she has considered that dust IL
her natural enemy with which she mus'
continually wage war. -,
The dictionary says that dust 10 "earth
or other organic matter in fine dry par
ticles so attenuated that they can be
raised and carried by the wind"
The contents of dust may be divided
into two groups; frst-visible, morgan
10 or lifeless dust, which is mostly min
eral matter; and second,-invisible, or
ganic or living dust which contains bac'
terra, yeasts and moulds.
BACTERIA, YEAsTs AND MoULDs
Bacteria. The most important and
most numerous of the three organic
kinds of dust arc the bacteria. They
are every where. They may be divided
into two classes producing OF
pathogenic bacteria, and those which
will not produce disease or non.patho
genie bacteria. The latter are more
numerous and, under usual conditions
are harmless. Some of them are very
useful. g., those which ripen cheese
and the nitrifying bacteria of the soil
But many Of them are harmful because
thew cause waste and sometimes dis
ease.
Yeasts. The form in which We usual
" think OF yeast 10 the yeast cake
Many million Of yeast cells are gathered
together to form one yeast cake. Yeast
plants are almost everywhere. Oul
erandmothers depended upon "wild
yeasts" falling into the doug b when they
made "milk.risipg" or 'salt.rising'
bread. Our yeast cakes are made up Of
Yeast cells which have been cultivat Cd
for the making of bread and for brewing
purposes.
Moulds. Everyone knows the genera
appearance of moulds. At first they are
a soft, fluffy mass, usually white. Later
they become blue, green, brown, black
nr red. The appearance of the color GU
the surface of the mould indicates thai
the mould is fruiting. The minute
reproductive bodies of the mouldi
are called spores. The spores o.
different species of mould are produced
in quite different ways. BOtauists class
liz mOulds by their method Of forming
fruit. :,
The soft, white, fluffy mass of mOult
is made up of the tiniest white thread'
which grow on the surface OF objects
| and often force their way under the sur
face. The botanical name for this white
thread is mycelium. =,
The spores Of the common blue moult
are formed in the following way. Aftel
the mycelium has grown for sometime
there arise from Its surface, tiny threads
which grow vertically into the air
These threads divide into little branches
several branches coming from single
stem. After these branches have grown
| for short distance they begin to be di
vided by slight constructions, like rings
so that each branch looks like a strinl
Of beads. These rings cut deeper anc
deeper until finally the branch is brok
| en- into dozen or more small rounf
balls. These are the spores.
The mould which Is 50 common OF
fruit and bread is called mucor. Th'
mycelium of this mould is coarse ant
easily visible. When ready to form
spores, threads form vertically into tn
| air and the end of each thread swells 10
to small, white ball. When this ball Ii
large enough to be seen with the naket
| eye, it becomes black and soon breaks
| into hundreds of minute bodies which
are the spore sacks. After the sack
have developed sufficiently they burs
and the little spores are thown out int
he air. These are only two OF TIT
methods OF pore.formatiOn.
| The function of the spores Is to repro
iuce the plant. If one Of them light'
upon some material which has sufh
cient warmth, moisture, and nourish
ment for its life, it soon terminates and
within a few hours new mycelium l!
formed which develops into q typca
mould. After day or two new spores
are produced.
Almost always the air is so filled will
mould spores that 1t is not safe TO leav'
food exposed for any length of time
Although very light, the mould spores
are heavier than air, and, after floating
awhile, they sink to the floor II the al
/ in the room is quiet. They stay on th'
floor until the air is stirred up again
Sweeping, busting, and even walking
through room. especially with skir
which sweeps the floor, stirs up tb'
moulds. Therefore great care should b
taken about covering food.
In even the cleanest room bacteria
yeasts and moulds may be found bu
they are very much more numerous il
dirty places where bits of food are al
lowed to decay and dust to accumulate
Direct sunlight, light, cleanliness, dry
ness, cold, and much fresh air are unfa
vorable to the growth Of bacteria
yeasts and moulds.
MILK BOTTLES
Always wash the milk bottles before
putting them into the ice-cbest or stor
age place. Here again there 10 grea
danger of contamination from handling
Any receptacle which has been used fol
milk should be rinsed with cold water
before washing In hot, soapy water
Rinsing in boiling water is advisable
| IL the person who bottles the milk doe'
not sterilize the jars, the bousekeepel
should sterilizs the jars just as she does
those used for preserving. Never put
money or tickets into q pail or any othel
receptacle which lie to hold milk! StOI
and thiuk OF the places where money
goes, of the people who handle the mon
ey aud the tickets, and sou will know
that you don't want any dirt from then
to get into your food.
PANTRY SHELVES
Glass jars, tin cans and crooks are ex
cellent r, ceptacies for spices and dr.!
groceries. Moisture and dust are ex
cluded aud flavors last longer; the pan
try shelves look much more orderly, ane
wasteful splitting Is more easily avoided
Have everything labeled clearly and th'
things used oftenest, In the most acces
sible place. Have place for every
thing and keep 1t in its place when no
in use. These little things save mucl
thought and energy and time.
PERSONAL CLEANLINESS
Keep the dish towels clean! Wash
boil and sun them frequently. Habit'
of cleanliness are needed everywhere
and, especially those Of personal oleanli
ness. floods and fingers are carriers q
/ Ia a atrID ~ -aohtno