The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1918-12-13


ditions are otherwise ideal, barns and
outhouses are too often placed close
to drinking wells and cisterns. This
practice is dangerous to health.
Where there is no drainage system,
extraordinary care is needed to keep
the ground water pure. All well or
spring water must be carefully watch
ed. Boards of health will gladly ex-
anime samples of water and report
whether it is safe to drink.
Water is essential to health, but 1t
must be pure.
Properly pasteurized milk is usually
the safest Kind to use. No milk is
safe unless frequent tests show that it
is untainted by disease germs. Raw
milk should not be used except that
produced under the most careful SUI
pervision. To pasteurize milk at
home, put it in a bottle, cork it with
a piece of clean cotton or paper cap,
and then place it in small pail of wa
ter. If an inverted pie-tin, with a
few holes punched in it, is placed in
the bottom of the pail, it will prevent
the bottles from humping. Heat the
water to temperature Of 145 de-
grees Fahrenheit, keeping it there for
30 minutes. After pasteurization, the
milk should be gradually cooled to be-
low so degrees Fahrenheit in running
water and kept in cool place. Pas
teurization will kill any germs that
may be in the milk. Milk from dis
eased cows should never, under any
circumstances be used. The three
"C's'' for the proper care of milk in
the home, according to dairy special
lists are, keep milk covered, clean,
cold.
Never for one minute keep milk I'M
covered or in warm place. The uten-
sils used to receive it should always
be scalded before using and kept COW
cred when not in use. Milk which has
been poured from the bottle should not
be returned to it.
Milk bottles should never be allowed
to come out of patients room, or
sent back to the dairy. until they have
been thoroughly boiled. Milk when
properly cared for is one of the best
foods obtainable. 1t is nourishing, d.
gestible, and usually economical.
Food will also cause sickness if 1t
carries disease germs. Since thor
ough cooking destroys the germs, the
danger of contagion or infection arises
chiefly from raw foods. Fried meats,
in large quantities, are not healthful.
Pork should never be eaten unless
thoroughly cooked. Soups and stews
and broths should be thoroughly heat
ed before serving.
1t must be remembered that the
body is not nourished merely by swal-
lowing food; in order to nourish the
body, food must also be digested, alb
sorbed and used by the tissues Of the
body. The agreeable taste or odor
Of food or even the pleasurable thought
of it helps to digest 1t. All fruits and
vegetables eaten raw should be thor
oughly washed.
Garbage should not be allowed to
become breeding place for flies. Gar
bage disposal is matter of cleanli-
ness and public decency, and should
not be neglected so that it becomes
menace to public health.
Flies, cockroaches, and other scav.
enging insects may carry germs, and
thus infect the food. Such insects are
always dangerous, and should not be
tolerated, while rats, mice and vermin
should not be allowed to remain in the
house.
Clean houses, clean hands, clean
milk, clean food, pure air. and no in
sects, and there will be less opportu-
nifty for the germs of contagious dis
eases to accumulate.