'^2S> Reading-Course for Farmers' Wives. 



mouth, place the spoon back in the dish and resume the pipe would 

 have been happier had she not seen the episode. She was not in a 

 position to remedy the difficulty as she might in her own home. Or the 

 appetite may be lost when, on looking through the kitchen door, one sees 

 the cook tasting the soup or the food which she is preparing for a meal 

 and putting the spoon back without washing it. Perhaps we ourselves 

 are sometimes careless in the same way. Knowledge tells us that we 

 cannot afford to be so, for we may have a cold or some disorder which 

 will endanger the health of others. 



Nowadays we keep dish cloths and dish towels clean by frequent 

 scalding and exposure to sunlight to kill the micro-organisms. Formerly 

 we kept them clean because it seemed nicer to have them so. Now every 

 person in the family has an individual towel, comb and brush and 

 drinking cup. Unfortunately, the habit of using individual towels and 

 drinking cups has not extended through the public school system nor 

 to the railway stations and trains, and too frequently we see one person 

 after another making use of the same drinking cup. The bad habit of 

 brushing clothing on Pullman cars may bring revenue to the porter but 

 it leads to the exchange of dust and bacteria among the passengers. 

 There are common ways of taking to ourselves organisms by turning 

 with moistened fingers the leaves of books, by sealing envelopes, licking 

 stamps, placing pencils anrl money in the mouth, shaking hands, leaving 

 handkerchiefs wherever convenient, since women have no pockets, or by 

 using sweat shop goods. 



The baby whose mother chews the cracker before putting it into the 

 baby's mouth is still the loving and trusting infant, even if he is imposed 

 upon. Older grown, there is a repugnance for having the same family 

 cough-medicine bottle, from which each takes a mouthful direct from 

 the bottle. Germs are easily transferred from person to person by such 

 thoughtless habits. 



The thorough washing of pans, kettles and cans makes housework 

 and cooking far from easy, but in the long run it is easier than caring 

 for sickness or being disabled. It is not so difficult to do the cooking 

 when someone else does the cleaning up. The fewer the creases in a 

 cooking utensil and the more it is scalded the better. Sun and hot 

 water are most beneficial agencies for the safe care of these articles of 

 kitchen warfare. 



The refrigerator might be called upon to tell many tales of the life 

 history of germs, for its recesses hide a multitude of secrets. Slime 

 left where the ice was melted shows the need of care. The spilling of 

 food on the shelves is anotlier source of trouble. Ice should be well 



