234 BACTERIA, YEASTS, AND MOLDS 



diseases than that of discarding the old-fashioned method 

 of dusting and replacing the same with the more sani- 

 tary one of wiping. It is much better to have bacteria in 

 the carpets, where they will die after a time, than to have 

 them in the air that we breathe. 



Uncooked Food. Some of the foods that come upon our 

 tables without cooking may be the means of distributing 

 disease. This is not, however, very common, and is men- 

 tioned only as a possibility. If fruit has a chance to 

 become contaminated with infectious material (such as 

 sewage, or sewage-infected water, or consumptive sputum), 

 and is eaten uncooked, the person eating it is in danger 

 of contracting disease. The chance, however, of fruit 

 becoming contaminated with disease germs is not very 

 great, and we cannot therefore look upon it as a very 

 serious source of danger in a household. Lettuce, celery, 

 or radishes grown on sewage farms have a chance of 

 contamination from typhoid germs in the sewage used 

 for fertilizing the soil, and have been pointed out as pos- 

 sible dangers. Troubles from these sources are, however, 

 rare and may be commonly neglected, but in times of epi- 

 demics it is always wise to guard against even this pos- 

 sible source of danger by avoiding the consumption of 

 fruit or vegetables that have in any way whatever been 

 exposed to a chance of contamination. 



Although it is thus seen that quite a number of our 

 foods are sources of possible danger, it is not wise to be 

 too fearful over the matter. The fact that certain dis- 

 eases under certain conditions are caused by some of our 

 commonly consumed foods must be admitted ; but it 

 must also be remembered that the chances in each case 



