328 Transactions of tlie Society. 



up during a premature sprouting. Such are the corns which are 

 found with this particular mould developed upon them. The 

 mould is never seen on a healthy, germinating, perfect corn, and 

 this is no doubt equally the case where the commoner moulds, e. g. 

 Penicillium and Mucor are concerned, for although these, especially 

 the former, spread at times with some rapidity amongst the couches, 

 it is only when the corns are exposed to abnormal conditions of 

 temperature causing a reduction in their vitality. It will be 

 understood from the foregoing remarks that the red mould does 

 not spread from corn to corn excepting where injured corns lie for 

 some time in contact ; this is probably owing to the fact that the 

 spores are not disseminated like those of the common moulds, owing 

 to their greater weight and their tendency to remain adherent to 

 the original mould-growth. Corns seriously affected with the 

 mould may be distinguished among finished malt, being rendered 

 conspicuous by the colouring matter still adherent to them. Mould- 

 spores can have little or no influence of themselves in the mashing 

 process, and are undoubtedly destroyed during the boiling in the 

 wort-copper. Nevertheless, malt exhibiting red corns must be of 

 an inferior quality, having been prepared from an indifferent 

 sample of barley, besides which the mould-growth will have acted 

 in a prejudicial manner on the constituents of the corn, using up 

 extractible matters and imparting peculiarity of flavour. I have 

 left the consideration of the colouring matter produced by this and 

 other moulds to the light of future experiment. 



