Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1914-08-14
DIRT IS HEALTHY?
Medical Journal Gives Soil Clean
Bill of Health.
Bacteria Of Fever and Other Disease
Are Killed Instead Of Nurtured
by Mother Earth, 10 a Doc
tors Pleasant Theory.

tors Pleasant Theory.
That many diseases arise from soil
conditions was formerly widespread
belief. and Is still asserted by many
authorities. A writer in the Medical
Council, Philadelphia, asserts that this
theory Is outworn and that the soil.
except where abnormally infected, Is
q conserver Of health. not a harborer
OF disease. The theories that malaria
Is due to soil conditions, he says, have
utterly collapsed, and OF the disease
once thought to originate In the soil,
including military fever" typhoid.
yellow fever. and more recently pei
lagra, erysipelas. beriberi. dysentery,
tuberculosis. tetanus, anthrax, amoe-
bold dysentery. cholera infantum and
epidemic meningitis, 1t Is now fairly
certain that hone Is there present nor
mally. The organisms Of some may
lnfest both soil and water. but these
are only carriers in such cases. not
generators.
AS medical science advances" he
writes, 1T Is more than probable that
the soil as generator OF disease will
be dismissed from consideration. 1t
Is quite true that buried accumula-
lions CT filth may proliferate various
organisms, but that normal soil does
so, except as taught In agricultural
books. Is not probable. The normal
bacteria of the soil are not pathogenic
to man.
After going through much authori.
tative literature. we are unable to find
many authenticated instances Of patho-
genie bacteria normally occurring in
the soil. More and more Is 1t being
thought that tetanus baciln largely
come from the intestinal tracts of the
domestic animals and do Iot prolifer-
ate in the soil. although the spores
may long remain viable.
las a matter of fact, normal soil Is
a natural and benef1cent bacteriolog-
ical laboratory, various nitrifying bac-
terra promoting growth and others de-
composing humus and organic matter,
thus rendering it available as plant
food. But when natural conditions are
disturbed the bacterial balance Is also
disturbed and fungi, molds, algae and
other organisms proliferate, to the Diet.
riment OF man and animals. Note. It
Is not SO much bacteria but other or
ganisms which proliferate. Disturbed
soil needs to be cultivated and cult
waited well. And yet the processes Of
artificial cultivation are often product
i've OF vegetable forms of diminished
resistance. as note the phylloxera dis
ease Of cultivated grapes, the various
blights and the root growths SO de-
structive Of highly developed plant life.
1.-THE soil is a great conservator of
health, not menace; it's life and death
processes are among the most wonder.
full in nature. Back to the soil needs
to be health slogan as well as an eco.
nomic one. But what kind of soil ?
The best answer Is that Of modern sci
entific farming, which conserves the
soil as we'll as man. Science was long
a very artificial thing; but 1t Is now
being naturalized. And the encourag.
ing thing is that science pays in eft1'
cheney and dollars and cents. Scien.
| tific farming is not only the most prof.
table, but it Is one of the greatest con.
SENATORS of public health.
And yet how foolish some santa
rians are! One alleged scientist re-
Gently stated that he would as soon
his children played with poison as with
earth. as all of the pathogenic bacteria
came from the soil. And another city
builder wishes that not one blade OF
grass be allowed to grow within the
limits of the city. Children know bet
ter, and scientists should.
LET us 60 back to the soil and the
sun! Let US cease communicating the
soil and the atmosphere, and santa.
ton will progress by leaps and bounds.
Sanitarians are, perforce OF circum.
stances, compelled to make insanitary
conditions tolerable; but what great
work could be done were these unnec.
essary conditions removed and the
sanitarian allowed to devote his atten.
ton more to man In proper environ.
ment! Man himself is the great prob.
lem, after all. This world is a place
where every prospect pleases and only
man Is vile Too long have we blamed
our troubles upon this good old earth
that we have abused SO sorely. Let us
begin with ourselves and let the earth
wag along as the Creator intended II
should"