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FRIENDS AND ENEMIES OF PLANTS 



become covered with a heavy deposit of the remains of the dead 

 plants and animals of past generations. These little plants that 

 live on other plants or animals and obtain their nourishment from 

 them are called fungi, and each separate plant is called a fungus. 

 Because of having no chlorophyll they are never green, but are 

 usually white, pink, yellow, brown, or blue. Fungi do not propagate 

 by seeds but by spores. These are minute bodies or cells which 

 correspond to the seeds of the higher plants and require the same 

 conditions for germination. These spores reproduce with such 

 wonderful rapidity that one plant may produce several million in a 

 single day. 



The classes of fungi are: (1) molds, (2) bacteria, (3) yeast. 



Molds. If damp bread is set away for a few days under a 

 glass cover, we notice that a furry growth is forming, which bota- 



Mold growing on bread.' 



nists call mold. It may also be frequently seen on the surface of 

 canned fruits, preserves, manure heaps, etc. Slices of lemon 

 when left exposed for a few days will also develop what is generally 

 called blue mold. Sometimes we may see this same blue mold 

 on apples where the skin has been broken or bruised. In the course 

 of a short time this mold causes the apple to rot. This same mold, 

 when it comes into contact with bruised or exposed places in other 

 apples, will attach itself and cause decay to begin in a very short 

 time. From this we see that diseases may be transmitted from 



