%y2. Rural School Leaflet. 



2nd. Sterilize the needle in the flame of the alcohol lamp. Allow 

 it to cool, care being taken that it touches no object until ready to make 

 the inoculation. 



3rd. Inoculating the needle (i.e. planting the fungus). — Moisten the 

 sterilized needle by touching it into the wet blotting paper. Touch it 

 to the black mass of mold and then wipe it on the square of bread. Dur- 

 ing these operations the inverted tumblers should be removed and re- 

 placed as quickly as possible. If the bread be long exposed it becomes 

 much contaminated with other fungi and bacteria from the air. The 

 needle should be flamed before each inoculation. 



4th. Incubating. — Place the cultures in a warm place near the stove 

 or radiator (70° to 80° F.). They should not be placed in the direct 

 light. Growth should begin to show in two or three days, and should 

 be in the best condition for study about the fourth or fifth day. In 

 order to show effect of heat and light on a growth prepare check experi- 

 ments. Such experiments are spoken of as checks. Place one check 

 culture in a cool place ; one check culture with dry blotter ; one covered 

 so as to be in the dark. 



Studying the fungus. — ^The teacher having carried through one of the 

 cultures herself in order to become acquainted with the operations, 

 should prepare the cultures for the class with the children looking on. 

 The reasons for the different steps in the operation should be brought 

 out by questions and suggestions. The children should watch the 

 cultures for the first evidences of growth and the further development 

 of the fungus. 



Lesson i. The vegetative stage. — When the white moldy growth 

 becomes evident on all of the cultures the class may make a fifteen-minute 

 study of the culture. Place the cultures so that three or iovr children 

 may get about each one. The white moldy growth consists of threads — 

 the mycelium of the fungus. These mycelium threads grow out from 

 the bread. Carefully break the bread open; the mycelium has grown 

 all through it. The mold fungus is a plant. It grows in the bread 

 instead of in the ground. The mycelium corresponds to the roots, 

 stems, and leaves of other plants. The mycelium takes food from the 

 bread. Compare your culture with the check cultures. Bring out the 

 fact that the fungus, like any other plant, needs heat and moisture for 

 growth. The fungus plant does not need light as do green plants. 



Lesson 2. The fruiting stage. — After a day or two the cultures will 

 begin to turn black. This is the fruiting or spore stage. Distribute 

 the cultures as before, and devote another fifteen or twenty minutes to 

 a studv of them. Observe that the dark color of the culture is due to 



