MICROBE FARM.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXIII, 18 December 1925, Page 9

MICROBE FARM.

PREPARING THE PASTURES. High lifo on a microbe farm in the' heart of London, whero two people, breed and feed germs capable of wiping’ the city’s millions out of existence, is.| described by Mr David Masters, owner of the “farm.” The farm is a laboratory, 30ft by 20ft, in the Lister Institute at Chelsea, and it contains more flocks and herds than there are four-footed tilings in the world. The farmer is. Dr R. St. John employed by the Medical Research Council, and he is helped by a shepherdess,'riVliss K. M. Rhodes. Under their supervision, “in all innocence, germs fall in love, and have little baby germs, browse contentedly, breed in their myriads, grow up under 1 your eyes into fine strapping youngsters.” Then they “reach the age of adolescence, fall in love and have little baby germs of their own all in a few hours or a few days, eventually dying of senile decay in a week or a year, viccordiiig to their kind.” | And, apparently, they take 6omo Rooking .Their health has to be; carefully' studied, and dieting of a highly, skilled nature 'applied. In fact, DiV Brooks and Miss Rhodes have to ms -a special kitchen for them. 'p’jfo scientist is compelled to turn cliei\f° prepare'various dishes to tempt the Appetites of the billions of genus, reared on Die farm. The \baso of most of these preparations is*. broth. It is made into a iellv with agar, which is a gelatine obtained seaweed. Some gfd'ms have a predilection for egg, so the? g ivoil a » egg flip in agar. The’ , v V6&ss>,genns thirst for the sugar of malt', and, by growing, produce. beer. . „ ~ . Here is a rdSiR 0 from the cookery book for germs: —’V Pec] a potato and P iecc . s thei size of lumps of sugar. _ Steam the pieces for an hour and,A" half, and strain the mixture through" a cheesecloth.

To the starch which is squeezed out add. broth from stock, with a. certain quantity of milk, and 2 per cent, of agar. Steam concoction three times to destroy every living germ, and place mixture in test-tube. Boil tube to distribute mixture evenly around the glass. A flock of microbes can then be driven into the prepared pasture, and will thoroughly enjoy themselves. Great care has to bo taken to protect the flocks from storms of low temperature. . Influenza germs in particulai am liable to cateii cold, and must be kept at blood heat, or they will assmcdU The same applies to most of the other 1,200 organisms which exist in colonies in over 0000 test tubes. . Dr Brooks can produce any microbe at a moment’s notice, and, indeed, regularly does so. inquiries for microbes come from scientists all over the world, and the institute sends away every month ..TO colonies of germs, the test tubes all n'ufecf I v packed in cotton wool and. lined with food for the journey.