54 



HOUSEHOLD BACTERIOLOGY 



In these "maceration industries" advantage is taken 

 of Nature's methods of decomposition and what she 

 did for countless ages before man studied her "ways 

 and means" he still lets her do for his own and the 

 world's commercial benefit. Her bacterial agents are 

 as ready to work on the large 

 scale of his planning as on 

 the small scale of the stems 

 of mignonette left^ too long 

 without fresh water in a vase 

 on our tables. 



Yet these are not all. Not 

 only do they act directly and 

 indirectly in furnishing food 

 to plants, which afterward 

 become food or fuel to ani- 

 mals and man, and prove a source of wealth to man 

 in his industries, but they also greatly increase the 

 variety and the palatability of his food. 



Milk as we know it always contains bacteria and 

 is an excellent culture material for their growth. Such 

 a universal condition suggests some important results 

 to be attained. 



Most housewives know that while cream may be 

 sour it is not so sharply acid as the, milk from which it 

 was taken. The addition of a little salt or sugar and 

 spices may counteract this acidity and the result be 

 a most delicious sauce. The large amount of fat in 



Fig. 31. A Bacterium Which 

 Makes Milk Sour. 



