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Temperance in the Home

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Sep 26, 1907

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 84, No. 39.

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Temperance in the Home

By Augusta C. Bainbridge

AUGUSTA C. BAINBRIDGE
“I was made to be eaten, And not to be drank; To be thrashed in a barn, Not soaked in a tank; I come as a blessing When put through a mill; As a blight and a curse When run through a still.”
“Phew!” said mama, as she caught the odor from a jar of peaches she had just opened. “Here, Katy, throw these out, and get me another jar from the cellar—top shelf, right-hand side; I do want Crawfords.”
“Why, mama, what are these funny little bubbles? And, O! what a smell!”
“Put it on the side table there, Katy, and fasten the cover on closely, and I will tell you about it while we are clearing up, after dinner. Get me the Crawfords now, dear.”
“Top shelf, right-hand side, Crawford’s; yes, here they are! How nice they look! I wonder what made that jarful so bad. Mama never puts up anything but the very best fruit.”
Bang! went the cellar door; and, “Here they are, mama,” said Katy.
Quickly unscrewing the top, and testing the contents by their odor, Mrs. Gray passed the jar over to Katy. “Take a good smell of that. See any difference?”
“Indeed I do.”
“Now for the tall glass dish, dear; and pour them out carefully.”
The peaches were enjoyed by all; for Mrs. Gray was a prize winner in putting up fruit. Katy cast many a glance at the jar on the side table, with its dark juice and ever-busy bubbles. After the table had been cleared, Mrs. Gray brought forth the rejected jar of fruit.
“Take another smell, Katy, and notice just what kind of bad odor it is.”
“It is a tingling smell; it makes my nose smart, inside.”
“Yes, now taste the juice, and see just what kind of ‘bad taste you find there.”
“It is a little sour, and bites my tongue.”
“Yes; what did I put into that jar, Katy?”
“These are the Crawfords we bought from Uncle Si. Mama, you put nice, fresh peaches in there, just as you did in the other jars. They were all cooked in the same kettle.” And she glanced at the kettle hanging in its place, remembering the long, warm day she stood and peeled peaches.
“Well, did I put anything else in?”
“No, you don’t put anything in Crawfords; you put sugar in the others, but the Crawfords are just right as they are. They are sweet.”
“How does the juice taste in the dish?”
“It is sweet.”
“Can you think of anything else that has sweet juice?”
“Yes, all kinds of ripe fruit, or nearly all kinds.”
“If cooked or raw fruit is exposed to the air for several days when the weather is warm, what happens?”
“It decays, or spoils.”
“Then that was what happened to those peaches. Look at the lid, and see if you can find a dent, or a flaw that could let air in.”
“Yes, here is one; and was it the air that caused it to spoil?”
“Yes, it caused it to ferment.”
“What is that?”
“It is a chemical change that comes to any sweet liquid that is exposed to the action of the air in a warm place. What do all sweet liquids have in them?”
“Sugar.”
“Yes, and sugar in a liquid form under these circumstances breaks up, or changes, into carbonic acid and alcohol. Now look at your bubbles again. They are bubbles of carbonic acid gas, and pass off. The alcohol stays in the liquid, and gives it that biting taste, and makes it poisonous.”