66 The Philippine Journal of Science im 



The conditions under which the mold acted were the most 

 favorable possible. The coconut meat was kept in a saturated 

 atmosphere. The meat was grated, and therefore a greater 

 surface was exposed to mold action than is the case in ungrated 

 meat. Undoubtedly the loss in oil was higher than is to be ex- 

 pected under ordinary conditions. The table is of value also 

 in showing that this mold under favorable conditions does de- 

 stroy a very high percentage of the oil in the meat and that oil 

 from such meat has a high percentage of free acid. 



Grated meat was used to overcome certain difficulties in manip- 

 ulation that arose in attempting to discover the oil loss due to 

 this mold in migrated meat. It was found possible more easily 

 to prevent bacterial growth in grated meat. In ungrated meat 

 bacteria soon appear on the surface and change it into a slimy 

 mass upon which molds do not grow. 



It is impossible to shred or grind ungrated meat after the mold 

 has grown upon it so that complete extraction of the oil is 

 possible without a change in the oil content, due to losing meat 

 and oil on the grater and thus rendering the results worthless 

 for comparison. The noting of the total oil content before and 

 after mold action is necessary in order to give the true oil loss. 



ASPERGILLUS NIGKR VAN TIEGH. (BLACK MOLD) 



This species of Aspergillus plays a more important part than 

 does Rhizopus sp., but a far less important one than does Asper- 

 gillus flavus (brown mold) . It is the black mold often seen on 

 badly molded copra. Its moisture requirements are lower than 

 those of white mold, but slightly higher than those of brown mold, 

 and although it often grows with the latter, it appears only 

 upon copra that contains at least 12 per cent of water, and it 

 makes its most luxuriant growth upon copra that contains 18 to 

 20 per cent of water. Properly dried copra should not have 

 such a high moisture content as is required for the growth of 

 this mold- However, as copra is usually prepared in the Phil- 

 ippines, it often contains enough water for this mold to appear 

 and to make a considerable growth, and under such conditions it 

 undoubtedly causes an appreciable loss in oil. Our experiments 

 indicate that this loss may sometimes be as much as 40 per cent 

 of the total oil. 



In hanging drops the spores germinate in about six hours, 

 and the subsequent growth is rapid. In forty-eight hours the 

 mycelium from a single spore may grow out and extend over an 

 area from 3 to 4 centimeters in diameter. On a nutrient agar 

 medium such as coconut, prune, or string bean the colonies are 



