168 PHYSIOLOGY AND tEMPERANC& 



part of a living being or a vegetable growth. It is not 

 merely dead matter, it is matter undergoing decomposition; 

 not alone decomposing, but putrefying. It does not require 

 much of this putrefying matter to form a breeding-ground for 

 the disease germs, and, unfortunately, such breeding-grounds 

 abound on every hand. They are the outcome of every-day 

 civilized life. They are found in the waste material which 

 comes from every dwelling-house, from many factories, stables, 

 storehouses, butcher stalls, etc. They exist in the form of 

 garbage thrown from the kitchen or lying in the cellar, in 

 the slops of the kitchen, in the dust on the floor, or lodged on 

 the furniture. In a word, a breeding spot for disease will be 

 found in every hole and corner of an untidy house on the 

 walls, in the clothing, everywhere. 



3. Means of Invading the Human System. The 

 manner in which these disease-producing germs find their way 

 into the body is varied. They are often, when floating in 

 the air as dust, inhaled with the breath. They may be mixed 

 with the food or drink, and swallowed. When these germs 

 gain admission to the system, they enter into a contest with 

 the elements of the body. Having found a soil suitable for 

 their development, they, in taking root, take nourishment from 

 the cellular structures of that particular part. They encroach 

 upon the living cells, and a struggle for life ensues between 

 the cells of the part and the invading cells. Sometimes the 

 seat of conflict is in one part of the body, sometimes in 

 another. In typhoid fever the battle-ground is in one portion 

 of the intestine, in cholera it is in another portion. In diph- 

 theria it is in the mucous membrane of the throat. It is 

 here also in whooping-cough. In erysipelas it is in any part 

 of the surface where there is a wound or broken integument. 



In this struggle for life the more numerous and more 

 powerful the invading force, the more decided the victory. 

 But sometimes the invaders fail to conquer. Not everyone 



