isEW York Agricultural Experiment Station. 161 



In this connection we will call attention to a popular error 

 concerning the origin of the '' slime." In the main, it is a growth 

 and not a deposit or accumulation of matter from the melted ice. 

 In all probability the trouble originates with the ice; that is, 

 the ice contains spores or fragments of the fungus which, upon 

 the melting of the ice, become lodged in the drain pipe and then 

 commence to grow and multiply to an enormous extent. In all 

 cases coming under our observation the principal part of the 

 obstruction has been made up in this way; but if there is dirt 

 or other foreign matter in the ice it lodges with the fungus and 

 adds to its bulk. The nourishment of the fungus consists, chiefly, 

 of waste material from food placed in the ice chamber. With 

 many housewives it is a common practice to use the ice chamber 

 for storing provisions whenever the provision compartment 

 becomes crowded. As a consequence, milk, meat juices, parti- 

 cles of butter, etc., find their way into the drain pipe to furnish 

 nourishment for the fungus growing there. 



In one of the letters quoted above it is stated that it seems to 

 make little difference whether the ice used is natural or manu- 

 factured. This needs explanation. Ice made from distilled 

 water cannot contain the germs of the fungus and if used in a 

 new refrigerator there would probably be no trouble with slime 

 in the drain pipe. But a change from natural ice to manufac^ 

 tured ice will not result in the disappearance of the slime unless 

 the precaution is taken to thoroughly disinfect the drain pipe 

 and the ice chamber. Otherwise, the fungus contiues to grow as 

 before, because the drain pipe is already " seeded " with the fun- 

 gus before the manufactured ice comes into use. 



The presence of the fungus should not be regarded as evidence 

 that the ice is dangerously impure. A mere trace of the fungus 

 in the ice may bring about a luxuriant growth in the drain pipe. 



The simplest and most effective way of getting rid of the fun- 

 gus is to occasionally wash out the drain pipe and ice chamber 

 with boiling water. 



11 



