32 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [12:1— Jan., 1916 



out of doors but in the house we very much dislike them. We 

 are very conscious that these are our enemies when a common 

 mold, Mucor or Black Bread Mold, gets into the bread box and 

 spoils the bread. 



* As these molds live — as do most of the fungi — in the substance 

 from which they take their nourishment they often are hidden from 

 view and do their damage before they are seen or suspected. 



These molds grow from little reproductive bodies called spores. 

 These are in the air everywhere. It is hard to get away from them. 

 I have found them in the air of a new building in which there had 

 never been anything moldy. 



To keep molds out of the home we must reverse the conditions 

 that make growth possible. These conditions are: the spores 

 above mentioned, moisture, warmth and the oxygen of the air. 



To keep mold out of the bread box, then we must keep it dry 

 and keep out the spores as much as possible. If the bread box is 

 scalded or put over the flame of the gas stove the spores can be 

 largely gotten rid of for the time. The gas flame burns them out 

 quickly. One must be careful in using the gas flame thus so as 

 not to damage the bread box. The temperature of the bread 

 box is not easily regulated but the problem of keeping out the 

 mold will be greater in summer than in winter. 



This same kind of mold appears too on canned fruit and jellies. 

 If the jelly is not well paraffined or is kept in a damp place the 

 mold may get in and spoil the jelly by fermenting it. In the 

 case of canned fruit proper canning will keep the mold out. Often 

 a layer of mold is found on top of the fruit. This wastes some of 

 the fruit and is anything but appetizing. It does not grow down 

 into the fruit can very often because of the large amount of juice 

 which is in the can and which contains none of the oxygen necessary 

 for the molds growth. The mold on the top though, is very 

 undesirable. It occurs in this way. The fruit is usually well 

 boiled but the lid is put on cold or heated only by being placed 

 on the range shelf. When the cover is brought to the jar it picks 

 up spores from the air as it passes through it. Then there is some 

 air in the lid. These spores and this air are screwed down into 

 the jar. The spores grow and live on the fruit till the oxygen 

 in the contained air is all used up. Now, on the other hand, 

 if the lids are put into boiling water, the can filled level full of 

 fruit, and the lid, hot and steaming, brought to the jar, the steam 



