PARASITIC FUNGI AND MOULDS. 25 



name is due to the red stains which cover the skin, 

 afterwards drying up and falling off in the form of 

 scales. At first the general health is not affected, and 

 several years may intervene before the occurrence of 

 vertigo, a want of appetite, emaciation, and finally the 

 torpor and convulsions which precede death. These ill 

 effects may be prevented by baking the maize before 

 grinding it, according to the process in use in Burgundy. 



There is another very common fungus also belong- 

 ing to the group of ascomycetes, termed Eurotium 

 repens. This mould appears upon leather which has 

 been left in a damp place, and on vegetable or animal 

 substances in process of decomposition or badly pre- 

 served, and especially upon cooked fruits. 



This mould is of a sombre green, a colour by no 

 means due to the presence of chlorophyl. On the 

 mycelium, which spreads over the substance of the 

 leather or of the fruit-skin, small stems are developed, 

 consisting of a jointed tube, and terminating in an 

 enlarged head on which chaplets of small grains are 

 formed, each of which is a spore. This was formerly 

 termed Aspergillus glaucus, and was regarded as a 

 peculiar species (Fig. 13). 



When, however, this mould is developed in a place 

 in which the supply of air is limited, small gold-coloured 

 balls may often be observed beside or in the midst of the 

 stems, and these are filled with asci, each containing 

 eight spores. This second form has been termed Euro- 

 tium repens. It has recently been ascertained that 



