The word " Protein.'' The curd of the milk has some- thing in it that is found in somewhat the same form in meat, fish, and eggs ; and also in nuts, old beans, and peas ; and in grain seeds. It is a substance without which we starve, and which you might be satisfied to call " meat food.'' But why not learn its name, pro- tein? You cannot understand just what protein is until you study chemistry; and then you will learn among other things that it contains nitrogen^ a gas that is all around us in the air. We breathe it in with every breath, and out again. Nitrogen stays in our 36 FOOD AND HEALTH bodies only when we take it in our food in this substance called protein. Marjorie Allen found the word in one of the Farmers' Bulletins about feeding animals. Ask you father about it, too. If you are studying a little agriculture in school, you are learning something about nitrogen in fertilizers ; for plants must have it, as well as animals. Neither can live without it. The protein is both a body builder and a fuel food. Why is milk a substitute for more costly food ? When milk is compared with the other animal foods that con- tain protein, we begin to realize how very valuable it is. Does it astonish you to be told that a quart of milk equals in food value a pound of steak or eight eggs ? Why must we have clean milk ^ Milk must be very clean, for in any dirt there may be the germs of sickness. Even clean milk will sour in time. Souring means the presence of one kind of " germ " or bacteria, — invisible tiny living things that form the acid. These do not injure us, but other bacteria may be harmful. Ty- phoid fever, tuberculosis, and other serious illnesses are carried in milk, cream, and butter. " Clean milk '' is the best advertisement for those who produce it to sell. Also, when one has milk for home use one must be careful for the health of the family. Begin with the cow. The cow must be in good health, well fed, kept in a clean barn or stable ; the milker must have clean hands and clean clothes; and the pails, cans, and bottles should be as clean as boiling water, soapsuds, and sunshine can make them. The LUNCHEON AT SCHOOL 37 milk must be cooled as quickly as possible. In the most up-to-date dairy farms, the cow is washed and curried ! This means much trouble and labor. People who buy milk must learn to pay enough for it, so that the farmer can keep the milk clean. " Since a quart of milk equals Courtesy of Walter-Gordon Laboratory Co. Fig. 20. — Notice how clean everything looks in this picture of milking time. a pound of steak or eight eggs in food value, milk even at 15 to 20 cents a quart is more economical than meat and eggs at^ordinary prices. At the usual price (city) of 8 to 10 cents a quart, milk is very economical.'' ^ Some day we may all learn the lesson of cleanliness. ^ See Foods and Household Management. Kinne-Cooley, Macmillan Co., page 150. 38 FOOD AND HEALTH Then we shall not have the tragedy of many deaths in some city, even of little children, because of an impure milk supply. MUk in the home. Milk must be kept cool and very clean in the house. This is where ice is a comfort and saves milk and work. You cannot have the pans for milk too clean. The vessel for holding milk, whatever it is, — pan, pail, pitcher, or bottle, — should be rinsed in cold water, washed in strong, clean soapsuds, rinsed in clean boiling water, and dried in a sunny place ; or, in rainy weather, near the stove. The place where the milk stands must be clean and washed off daily.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

The word "Protein." The curd of the milk has something in it that is found in somewhat the same form in meat, fish, and eggs; and also in nuts, old beans, and peas ; and in grain seeds. It is a substance without which we starve, and which you might be satisfied to call " meat food.'' But why not learn its name, protein? You cannot understand just what protein is until you study chemistry; and then you will learn among other things that it contains nitrogen^ a gas that is all around us in the air. We breathe it in with every breath, and out again. Nitrogen stays in our bodies only when we take it in our food in this substance called protein. Marjorie Allen found the word in one of the Farmers' Bulletins about feeding animals. Ask you father about it, too. If you are studying a little agriculture in school, you are learning something about nitrogen in fertilizers ; for plants must have it, as well as animals. Neither can live without it. The protein is both a body builder and a fuel food. Why is milk a substitute for more costly food? When milk is compared with the other animal foods that contain protein, we begin to realize how very valuable it is. Does it astonish you to be told that a quart of milk equals in food value a pound of steak or eight eggs ? Why must we have clean milk? Milk must be very clean, for in any dirt there may be the germs of sickness. Even clean milk will sour in time. Souring means the presence of one kind of " germ " or bacteria, — invisible tiny living things that form the acid. These do not injure us, but other bacteria may be harmful. Typhoid fever, tuberculosis, and other serious illnesses are carried in milk, cream, and butter. " Clean milk '' is the best advertisement for those who produce it to sell. Also, when one has milk for home use one must be careful for the health of the family. Begin with the cow. The cow must be in good health, well fed, kept in a clean barn or stable ; the milker must have clean hands and clean clothes; and the pails, cans, and bottles should be as clean as boiling water, soapsuds, and sunshine can make them. The milk must be cooled as quickly as possible. In the most up-to-date dairy farms, the cow is washed and curried ! This means much trouble and labor. People who buy milk must learn to pay enough for it, so that the farmer can keep the milk clean. "Since a quart of milk equals [illustration: Fig. 20. — Notice how clean everything looks in this picture of milking time] a pound of steak or eight eggs in food value, milk even at 15 to 20 cents a quart is more economical than meat and eggs at^ordinary prices. At the usual price (city) of 8 to 10 cents a quart, milk is very economical.'' ^ Some day we may all learn the lesson of cleanliness. ^ See Foods and Household Management. Kinne-Cooley, Macmillan Co., page 150. Then we shall not have the tragedy of many deaths in some city, even of little children, because of an impure milk supply. Milk in the home. Milk must be kept cool and very clean in the house. This is where ice is a comfort and saves milk and work. You cannot have the pans for milk too clean. The vessel for holding milk, whatever it is, — pan, pail, pitcher, or bottle, — should be rinsed in cold water, washed in strong, clean soapsuds, rinsed in clean boiling water, and dried in a sunny place ; or, in rainy weather, near the stove. The place where the milk stands must be clean and washed off daily.

Food and health