184 
THE PREVENTION OF COMMUNICABLE 
DISEASES. 
Sanitary Sciences. —Most diseases 
are avoidable; avoidable because they 
are preventable, and preventable because 
we know their causes and can either 
forestall or remove them. This knowl¬ 
edge, called the science of sanitation, 
is largely the fruit of the investigations 
of the last 50 years. It places our gen¬ 
eration far in advance of our fathers in 
ability to avoid the tremendous loss, 
suffering, and heart-breaking sorrow 
caused by transmissible diseases. The 
story of the progress of sanitary sci¬ 
ence is a fascinating one, for it is a 
story of patient groping in the dark 
for facts so elusive that sometimes, 
when they have seemed almost within 
the grasp, they have slipped away, and 
the pursuit has had to be again renewed. 
It is a story also of toil and self-sac-^ 
rifice on the part of heroic men, many 
of whom have given life itself that some 
truth might be demonstrated for the 
benefit of their fellows. It marks, too, 
the emergence of mankind from the 
shadows of ignorance and superstition 
into the light of the present day; from 
a time when disease was thought to be 
due to demoniacal possession, or a ma¬ 
lignant Providence, to that in which 
man’s own ignorance or heedlessness is 
recognized as the cause of his misfor¬ 
tunes. 
Causes of Infection. —The science of 
preventive medicine may be said to 
liav? begun with the discovery that the 
infectious diseases are caused by liv¬ 
ing organisms, of microscopical size, 
THE RURAfc NRW-YORKER 
erable periods in the bodies of those 
who have recovered from illness, they 
retain life, even though they cannot 
multiply, and, when again they obtain 
access to the human body through food 
or drink, or the air that is inhaled, or 
by direct contact, as when a child 
places a toy in its mouth, or an adult 
uses an infected garment, they spring 
into renewed activity and their murder¬ 
ous work is again begun. 
Beneficent Bacteria. —Not all bac¬ 
teria are disease producing; many of 
them are as beneficent to man as others 
are malignant in their work. All about 
us is an unseen world teeming with life 
and activity, the results of which we 
see, but the operations of which are 
hidden from our sight. The won¬ 
derful eye of the microscope has pene¬ 
trated the mists here and there, and 
given us a glimpse into a new world, 
which our fathers did not know, and 
which we have only just begun to ex¬ 
plore. We have learned, however, that 
the higher forms of life are dependent 
upon lower, and that man is as much 
indebted to the bacteria which attack 
and destroy the waste materials of life, 
as he is injured by other types whose 
purpose seems to be wholly malevolent. 
We have lately learned that the nodules 
upon flie roots of leguminous plants 
are inhabited by bacteria, which, uncon¬ 
sciously but none the less effectively, 
take nitrogen from the air and feed it 
to their hosts, and we know that when 
a wild animal or plant dies in the field, 
its carcass is at once attacked by a 
myriad of tiny organisms which break 
up its tissues into elementary forms 
that again become available for living 
things. We say that they rot, but little 
think of the wonderful processes which 
rotting involves. So, our purpose is 
not to destroy all bacterial life, for with 
it we should lose our own, but rather 
to isolate those forms which are re¬ 
sponsible for human suffering, and to 
destroy them before they do us harm. 
which in some way obtain access to the do this, we must know where these 
tissues of the human body. These or¬ 
ganisms are collectively known as bac¬ 
teria, but bacteria have their varieties 
and families as distinct from each other 
in their form, and habits of life, as are 
the different families of cattle, swine, 
or sheep. They are clannish, also, and 
while different varieties are frequently 
found together, they do not commix, 
but breed true, each of its kind, and 
each variety perffffffts ifS life’s work in¬ 
dependently of its neighbors. Each in¬ 
fectious disease has its own specific 
bacterial organisms, without which it 
cannot be produced, and to which alone 
it is due. Destroy this germ, or pre¬ 
vent its access to the human body and 
you effectually prevent the disease which 
owes its existence to it. Simple as this 
truth is, man was long in learning it, 
but now, having comprehended its sig¬ 
nificance, he has hastened to make prac¬ 
tical application of it in the use of dis¬ 
infectants, or germ destroyers. Before 
trii enemy can be attacked and routed 
its location must be learned, so the life 
history of disease-producing bacteria 
had to be studied in order to know 
where they live, and how they may be 
destroyed. When and where they orig¬ 
inated is not known; they are as old 
as disease itself, and that, I suppose, 
is contemporaneous with the fall of 
man. But for practical purposes they 
may be considered as having their ori¬ 
gin in the tissues of a patient suffering 
from disease, and as being discharged 
by him through the various excretory 
channels of the body. While essen¬ 
tially parasitic in their nature, and 
thriving best within the bodies of their 
hosts, most bacteria retain the power 
of life for varying periods even under 
unfavorable circumstances, and, when 
again they find themselves in conge¬ 
nial surroundings, they grow and mul¬ 
tiply rapidly. 
Warfare of Bacteria. —It seems to 
be a law in nature that each species 
of life shall have its natural enemies, 
and, fortunately for mankind, this rule 
holds true in the bacterial world. Were 
it not for this, disease-producing germs 
would multiply and spread until higher 
forms of life had been destroyed. Chief 
among the natural forces which combat 
malignant bacterial life are the two 
great disinfectants, the sun, and air; 
freely exposed to them these germs 
weaken and die, but hid from these 
enemies in the darkened recesses of 
closet and sleeping room, the folds of 
clothing, unwashed bedding, the sur¬ 
face of books and toys, in vaults and 
cellars, and even sometimes for consid- 
germs exist, how they are transmitted 
from one to another ; and how most ef¬ 
fectively to attack them. A” this is 
taught in the new science of sanitation, 
which some day, we confidently believe, 
will abolish some of the most serious 
diseases that afflict mankind, and make 
life longer, happier and more useful. 
M. B. DEAN 
Feeding Cob Meal. 
Is corncob meal a fit feed for horses 
and should ear corn be fed to horses that 
eat cob and all? l. r. 
Pennsylvannia. 
Corncob being largely composed of crude 
fiber has very little nourishing value as 
a food for aninials. About the only ad¬ 
vantage of feeding ground cob along with 
the cornmeal is to add bulk and so allow 
the digestive juices a better chance to act 
upon the mass in the stomach. It is a 
common practice to feed corn and cob 
meal to_ hogs and cattle, but we would 
not advise use of this feed for horses. 
Horses should chew their feed, in order 
to perfectly insalivate it in the mouth be¬ 
fore swallowing. If a horse is so old that 
his teeth are in poor condition, making 
perfect mastication of the feed impossible, 
ground feed may be used, if mixed with 
wheat bran and cut hay. Corncob meal 
would be likely to cause indigestion in 
the horse. Another reason for not using 
corncob meal for the general feeding of 
animals is that the grinding of the cob 
is a difficult, tedious and, therefore, ex- 
pensive process. In feeding corn to horses, 
it is best to give it in the ear form and 
to make it the noon meal, with the oats 
and bran given at night and morning. If 
horses eat the cobs as well as the corn, 
when fed ear corn, it certainly would be 
best to substitute shelled corn; but we 
think it somewhat unlikely that the cob 
would be eaten by a horse that receives 
an adequate supply of good grain and hay. 
a. s. A. 
Effects of Arsenic. 
Your veterinarian often recommends 
Fowler’s solution of arsenic for horses. 
Can you tell me how long it will do to 
continue the use of it? I asked a local 
veterinarian (not a horse doctor, but a 
V. S.) about it, and he said if continued 
too long it would affect the heart and 
cause death, but did not say how long 
it could be used. b. 
Connecticut. 
In giving Fowler’s solution of arsenic 
to a horse, it is usual to administer one- 
half ounce to a dose until one quart has 
been used; then gradually discontinue the 
medicine, taking a week or more to the 
work. It is not true that these doses of 
arsenic, long continued will kill a horse; 
but the objection to administering arsenic 
for a prolonged period is that the horse 
becomes a “drug fiend”, and if deprived 
of the drug, will rapidly lose flesh and 
become weaker than before it was used. 
When used for a horse affected with heaves, 
it is usual to continue the drug until the 
aggravated symptoms subside; then it may 
be gradually discontinued as suggested 
above. We have often given much larger 
doses than one-half ounce to a heavy draft 
horse, and no detrimental affects have ap¬ 
peared. It is well, however, to give the 
minimum dose, rather than the large one 
and to discontinue the medicine gradu¬ 
ally just as soon as the good effects ex¬ 
pected from its use have become apparent. 
a. s. A. 
Saved 23% on Feed Bills 
and yet had fatter, sleeker, healthier and 
stronger animals. That’s what one man did 
who fed 
De Soto’s Brand Molasses 
Molasses is one of the best stock feeds 
—and one of the cheapest. Rich in car¬ 
bohydrate, it will supply more energy, 
proportionately, than any other feed. 
Keeps animals healthy. More work from 
horses—more milk from cows fed on mo¬ 
lasses. Try it on your stock for a month 
and note results. Recommended by own¬ 
ers, veterinarians and Experiment Sta¬ 
tions. 
Write for Free Book, “Feeding Molas¬ 
ses.” Tells how to mix rations and gives 
valuable information on feeding. 
JOHN S. SILLS & SONS. 612 West 37th Street 
NEW YORK CITY 
J 
Guaranteed to the Limit! 
We will absolutely refund your purchase- 
money and pay freight both ways if any size 
Farmers’ Favorite 
FEED COOKER AND 
AGRICULTURAL BOILER 
fails to satisfy you in any 
way. Gel more money 
out of your hens, cows, 
pigs, etc., by giving them 
warm food and water in 
winter. 
This cooker can bo set up 
anywhere—and moved eas¬ 
ily. Raving on fuel, burns 
any kind. 26 to 100 gallons. 
Write for Free Catalog 
LEWIS MFG. CO. 
Box C Cortland, N. Y. 
February 8, 
Ppg0 Trid I D5rect From Fact ° r 
Direct from Factor? 
WE PAY the FREIGH1 
r'J ft? Doorl a r i 
Let us send you a Quaker City Feed Grind¬ 
ing Mill at our risk. We quote lowest fac- j 
tory price, saving you money, if you 
decide to keep it after 10 days’ free trial. 
Quaker City Feed Mills 
grind faster, easier and with smallest 
amount of power; also coarse and fine 
meal, corn and cob with- 
or without husks,etc. ForV 
46 years the standard of high 
quality. 23 styles—all guar¬ 
anteed. Send us your name for 
money-saving catalogs of 
mills and farm supplies. !_ 
The A. W. Straub Company 
Dept. R 8740 Filbert St., ' 
Philadelphia, Pa. 
Dept. T 3709 So. Ash¬ 
land Are., Chicago, III. 
SIT Y0UR1DEAS 
$9,000 offered for certain invert. 
J®" 8 * Book ‘Howto Obtain a Patent” 
a What to Invent’* sent free. Send 
sketch for free report as tp patent¬ 
ability. Patents advertised for sale &t 
our expense in Manufacturers’ Journals. 
CHANDLEE & CHANDLEE, PatentAtt’y* 
Established 16 Years 
086 F. Street, Washington, D. C. 
CASH 
FOR 
OLD 
Turn them into money. We buy them in any quan¬ 
tity. sound or torn, at a liberal price and pay the 
freight. Write for particulars. Reference: Citi¬ 
zen’s Bank. Iroquois Bag Co., 750 Broadw#r 
Buffalo, N. Y. 
■ < VJ ' / .• 
-ft\\ \ 
. S\ 
>oNVV\\\. 
FOOD 
mm 
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' TRiDE >* 
ftfdU 
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fi 
Solves Your Feed Troubles 
It is an established fact that molasses would be an ideal feed 
if the potash salts in it could be eliminated. American manu¬ 
facturers tried for years to overcome this danger. Many 
years ago a German chemist discovered that Sphagnum $Fd\ 
contained humic acid which neutralized the potash salts 
in the molasses, and w -v • v/ -v 
ufactured under this Jv* 
mula, and special 
is now man- 
patent for- 
process of 
tX)\ 
manufacture, producing a feed for cows, horses, sheep, lambs 
and pigs absolutely safe and second to nothing in the world. 
It eradicates all worms. 
Eighteen years of severe test and trial by the great dairymen 
and horse owners of England and Canada have proved that 
there is no feed in the world like it. 
MADE EAAC\-A.TAO 
depends absolutely upon results — not on analysis, for molasses has 
little or no protein or fat, yet is a most valuable feed. Molassine 
Meal is absolutely free from oat hulls, screenings or 44 fillers” 
such as often appear in ordinary molasses feeds. It has already 
won high approval of American feeders and welcomes the severest 
test. You can buy one bag or one ton or a carload. 
If your regular grain dealer does not have it in stock, write 
our Boston office for price and free booklet giving every fact. 
1 HE MOLASSINE CO., Ltd., London, England. 
Sole United States Distributors 
L. C. PRIME GO., 326 Board of Trade Building 
BOSTON, MASS. 
When you write advertisers mention The R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply 
and a “square deal.’’ See guarantee on editorial page. 
