The Smallest of Living Things 



243 



W. T. Skllllng 



FIG. 194. Smuts of corn and barley. The two heads of barley to the right 

 have been blackened by smut. 



specks ; but fungi often form a network of webby 

 material. 



The life histories of fungi are generally more complex The life 

 than those of bacteria. Mold is a fungous plant, but a fungu$ 

 unlike ordinary plants, it does not grow from a seed. 

 It comes from a spore, which is much smaller than the 

 smallest seed. Spores are very light and float about 

 in the air. Wrien one falls upon bread or cheese or 

 anything that will furnish it with nourishment, it grows 

 into a mold plant. First a white thread grows out from 

 the spore ; then this thread branches until it has formed 

 a network of threads so fine that they are difficult to see 

 without a microscope. This mold plant does not 

 blossom, but clusters of spores form on the ends of the 

 threads (Fig. 193). The spores are often blue or green, 



