New York AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 161 
In this connection we will call attention to a popular error 
concerning the origin of the “slime.” In the main, it is a growth 
and not a deposit or accumulation of matter from the melted ice. 
In all probability the trouble originates with the ice; that is, 
the ice contains spores or fragments of the fungus which, upon 
the melting of the ice, become lodged in the drain pipe and then 
commence to grow and multiply to an enormous extent. In all 
cases coming under our observation the principal part of the 
obstruction has been made up in this way; but if there is dirt 
or other foreign matter in the ice it lodges with the fungus and 
adds to its bulk. The nourishment of the fungus consists, chiefly, 
of waste material from food placed in the ice chamber. With 
many housewives it is a common practice to use the ice chamber 
for storing provisions whenever the provision compartment 
becomes crowded. As a consequence, milk, meat juices, parti- 
cles of butter, etc., find their way into the drain pipe to furnish 
nourishment for the fungus growing there. 
In one of the letters quoted above it is stated that it seems to 
make little difference whether the ice used is natural or manu- 
factured. This needs explanation. Ice made from distilled 
water cannot contain the germs of the fungus and if used in a 
new refrigerator there would probably be no trouble with slime 
in the drain pipe. But a change from natural ice to manufac- 
tured ice will not result in the disappearance of the slime unless 
the precaution is taken to thoroughly disinfect the drain pipe 
and the ice chamber. Otherwise, the fungus contiues to grow as 
before, because the drain pipe is already “seeded ” with the fun- 
gus before the manufactured ice comes into use. 
The presence of the fungus should not be regarded as evidence 
that the ice is dangerously impure. A mere trace of the fungus 
in the ice may bring about a luxuriant growth in the drain pipe. 
The simplest and most effective way of getting rid of the fun- 
gus is to occasionally wash out the drain pipe and ice chamber 
with boiling water. 
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