THE MOULD-FUNGI. 93 



cation of the fungus takes place, a fresh quantity of steamed 

 rice is introduced, and this also becomes coated over with 

 mycelium ; this process is repeated several times. In the 

 koji-rnass thus produced a part of the starch has been converted, 

 and some of the albuminoids, which before were insoluble in 

 water, have become soluble. The koji-mass is mashed, 21 

 parts of koji being mixed with 68 parts of rice boiled by 

 steam, and with 72 parts of water. This pasty mass is 

 allowed to remain at about 20 C. ; after some days it becomes 

 clear, the saccharification of the starch and dextrin continually 

 progresses, and at the same time a spontaneous and very violent 

 fermentation sets in, being caused by a yeast-like fungus, 

 which does not stand in any genetic relation to the Aapergillus, 

 and about which nothing is known. At the end of two or 

 three weeks the fermentation is finished, and the product, 

 after being filtered, is a clear, yellow, sherry-like liquid, 

 containing 13 to 14 per cent, of alcohol. It is then 

 pasteurised at 44 C. in iron vessels. 



Atkinson found a ferment in koji which is soluble in water, 

 and which inverts cane-sugar and converts maltose, dextrin, 

 and starch-paste into dextrose. The researches of Kellner 

 Mori, and Nagaoka, likewise showed that the koji-mass 

 possesses a strongly invertive ferment, which converts cane- 

 sugar into dextrose and levulose, maltose into dextrose, 

 starch into dextrin, maltose, and dextrose. The various 

 micro-organisms which occur in the koji-mass in all like- 

 lihood possess different invertive ferments. The presence 

 of such different invertive ferments has before been pointed 

 out by Bourquelot. 



5. MUCOK. 



The genus Mucor belongs to the most interesting of the 

 groups of mould-fungi with which we have to deal, since it 

 embraces species with very" marked fermentative action. 

 These generally occur as a grey or brown felt-like mass, 

 sometimes of very considerable height even several inches 



