Bob Tate McDaniel, aged 10, of Belfast, Tenn., for his question:

What makes mildew?

A piece of moldy bread does not look good to eat. Nor is it, But enlarged under a powerful microscope, the moldy patch is very pretty to see. Tiny stems reach up leafy arms of green or blue. Chances are, this bread mold is a. variety of penicillium. Its stems spread out into flat little fans. The patch of mold looks for all the world like ^a little garden. And in a way this, is dust what it is,

For all the molds and mildews are minute plants. There is a huge variety of them and they belong to the fungi plant family. All of them are midget cousins of the mushroom and toadstool. Their smaller cousins are the yeasts that make our bread light and spongy.

Molds and mildews begin life as tiny, tiny spores. These are the minute seeds from which the pigmy plans grow. Spores of mold and mildew float everywhere in the air. They have been found drifting high above the wide oceans, far, far from land, They are, of course, much too small for our eyes to see. And whether we like it or not, they share the world and the air with us,

Many molds and mildew spores like to eat what we eat. However, they need air and moisture to get started. Bread and fruit are safe from them so long as we keep these foods in a cool, dry refrigerator, Fruit outdoors in damp weather is likely to mildew. Bread in a damp room is likely to grow a beard of mold,

When conditions are right, the minute spores set down and start to grow. They sprout into masses of threads that look like pale plant roots, These threads feed the growing molds, The little plants next shoot up countless tiny spikes,

The spore cases are at the top of these spikes, They may look like dandelion clocks, balloons, fans or monkey puzzle trees depending upon the variety of mold. They may be brown, yellow, blue, green or black. A moldy piece of bread becomes blue‑green over night as the colored spores ripen. The little spore cases crack open and out pop the  minute spores to ride the airways.

Certain molds form fine films on leaves and plants. Some are very destructive to crops, Some penetrate to the insides of leaves and stems and feed on large plants from within.  Outside, powdery molds can be destroyed with sulfur dust and other chemical sprays.

We can forgive the pigmy plants for eating a little of our food, For certain of them make up for what their relatives have spoiled. A certain mold is used to make tangy. Blue cheese, another makes rich Camembert cheese, Still another can make citric said from molasses. These little helpers are bought like packages of plant seeds. Oh yea, and the penicillin that saves so many lives is a  mold that enjoys a slice of bread.