FoodNet

Efficiency in home-making and first-aid to good cooking

1915

Page 11

Presented as published in 1915. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
What other precautions are necessary? Copperas dis- solved in water ; three pounds to two gallons of water, or a strong solution of carbolic acid, should be freely dashed down over the contents, at regular intervals. Is country air in a village always pure and wholesome? It is not. Often the closets are so poorly cared for in villages that they are an offense in the summer time espe- cially in the evening to those passing along the street. Such conditions should not be tolerated. Should flies be allowed free access to open closets? No ; they crawl over the filth and then make their way to the kitchen and dining room there to deposit their bur- den of filth and disease germs on the food, dishes and dish towels. Typhoid is carried in this way. What must be done for the protection of others when- ever there is a case of typhoid? All excreta from the patient, whether liquid or solid, must be thoroughly treated with carbolic acid, before emptied into the city plumbing, or buried in the ground in the country. FLIES, MOSQUITOES, WATER BUGS, ROACHES AND BED BUGS, NOT FOUND IN THE EFFICIENCY HOME. Is it necessary to have flies in the kitchen ? They should not be tolerated in the house. How can they be kept out? The windows and doors should be carefully screened. If the netting springs loose it must be tacked on again. If one cannot have screens for the windows, netting can be tacked over them. Efficiency in Home Making 25 Why is it so important to keep all flies out ? They are hatched in filth, seek it wherever they go, and particles of it cling to their feet and wings; besides they carry the deadly germs of typhoid fever, other intestinal dis- eases, and tuberculosis, diphtheria, etc. In our Spanish war more of our soldiers were killed by typhoid carried by flies, than by the bullets of the enemy. Protect your family from flies as you would from wild beasts. What can be done besides screening the house ? Have fly spats always at hand and kill every one. Fly paper may be kept around in the kitchen. What other way is there of killing them? Shut the room up tight, and put twenty drops of carbolic acid on a hot shovel, or lid, the fumes will kill them. It will not injure the person using it this way, but must be kept most carefully out of reach of children, or where it might be taken by mistake, for it is a deadly poison. Keep the kitchen clean, leave nothing about for them to feed on; crumbs will attract them. What precaution should be taken with the garbage pail ? Keep it tightly covered ; never let bits of refuse fall outside, or water leak from it ; keep a fly trap on top of it. Use newspaper to line garbage can, as it will help to keep it cleaner. When is the most important time to destroy flies? In the very early spring, when there is only an occasional one. It is because they multiply with such unbelievable rapidity, that they become so numerous by August. Does one fly killed in early spring make much differ- ence? It will make millions less flies before the summer is over. What other time is it so important to kill them? In the late fall, after the cold sets in, for only a few survive the winter, so every one of these killed means millions less the next summer. Fly traps should be kept on porches.