368 



Popular Science Monthly 



acid makes conditions unfavorable for 

 putrefaction. Hence the putrefaction bac- 

 teria ultimately perish. 



How Bacteria Develop by the 

 Million 



Bacteria themselves, we must remember, 

 do not know the importance of the position 

 they occupy in the economy of life. All 

 they care for is a warm place and a square 

 meal for themselves and their young. And 

 the young multiply rather fast. An average 

 bacterium will divide in two in fifteen 

 minutes; in half an hour there will be four, 

 and in an hour as many as sixteen will be 

 clamoring for food. The number of off- 

 spring at the end of a few days, if not 

 checked, runs into billions. Add to this 

 the fact that there are countless varieties 

 of bacteria, because of the many different 

 functions they have to perform and that 

 these are present wherever there is plant or 

 animal life, and we can appreciate how 

 infinitely large are their numbers. 



But of all the bacteria which surround us, 

 only those few can do us harm which 

 grow in the body tissues and enjoy a meal 

 at the body's expense. Some of these will, 

 from time to time, work their way into the 

 tissues through a cut surface. In ninety- 

 nine per cent of cases, these will not disturb 

 our bodies in the slightest degree. The 

 body fluids take care of them so quietly 

 and effectively that we are not aware that 

 harmful bacteria have paid us a visit. 



Should, however, unusually large num- 

 bers of bacteria enter our bodies, 

 and what is more important 

 should our resis- 

 tance be at a 

 level, due perhap 

 to overwork o 

 worry, they are 

 likely to cause 

 considerable 

 disturbance. 

 But many 

 years of con- 

 tac t with 

 bacteria 

 have ad- 

 justed our 

 bodies so 

 that they 

 can over- 

 come these or- 

 ganisms with 

 comparative 

 ease, even after 



numbers of them have "gained entrance. 

 The entrance of these enemies causes the 

 body to mobilize at once its defensive 

 forces. Blood, lymph and white blood 

 cells are sent to the spot where the bacteria 

 entered, and because of this accumulation 

 of fluids, that part is inflamed. The body 

 often builds a wall around the infected area 

 to prevent the bacteria from spreading to 

 the surrounding tissues. The white cells 

 now proceed to digest the bacteria. In the 

 course of this process, they digest also the 

 tissue which the bacteria fed upon and 

 thus rendered useless to the body. The 

 infected area — bacteria and all — now begins 

 to soften. Pus, which is the product of this 

 digestion, consisting mainly of digested 

 tissue, dead bacteria and also dead white 

 cells which gave their lives in this encount- 

 er, is formed. In a short while, the infected 

 area is clean and healed. Thus the harm- 

 ful bacteria are invariably routed from 

 normal bodies. 



From their hospital beds the young men conduct a magazine 

 agency with branches in two cities and do their own advertising 



Conducting a Thriving Business 

 from Hospital Beds 



TWO young men, H. K. De Prez, of 

 Shelbyville, Ind., and E. L. Smith, of 

 Montreal, met over the telephone in 

 Mercy Hospital, in Chicago. Both had 

 been athletes and had received injuries in 

 sports. A friendship began and the young 

 men arranged to occupy the same room in 

 the hospital for the sake of companionship. 

 As their health improved games of chess 

 failed to fill up their days and 

 the natural craving for 

 something worth while 

 do became irre- 

 sistible. As a re- 

 sult the firm 

 of De Prez 

 and Smith, 

 M agaz i n e 

 Agency, was 

 formed. 

 Typewriters 

 were installed 

 at their bed- 

 sides and a 

 profitable 

 business was 

 started. 



They sell 

 Popular Sci- 

 ence Monthly 

 and other mag- 

 azines. 



