MR. MANGELSDORF: That is a bugaboo. I always say you don't have to be nuts to be in the nut business, but it sure helps a little bit. All the nuts that I have ever had any dealing with seem to be very susceptible to mold growth. If the moisture content of the nuts is above a critical level, mold growth takes place in the shell at a very fast rate. The only thing we can do in a case like that is to get the kernels in to St. Louis and destroy the mold growth or spores on the surface before it can grow so that the fungous mycelium is visible to the eye. The black walnut and pecan, if you examine them under the microscope, all seem to have mold growth on the surface of the kernels. I am inclined to believe that the nut kernel is not completely sterile in the shell and that through some manner or means the mold spores have been introduced onto the kernel, because immediately after shelling examination of these nuts under a microscope, will show some fungous mycelium on the surface of the kernels. DR. MCKAY: One comment is that the pellicle of a black walnut or a pecan, is very hygroscopic. It tends to absorb moisture readily, whereas the kernel itself, being high in oil, does not take up water readily. That, apparently, is why there may be evidences of mold growth on the kernel though it may not be actually penetrating. It is only superficial, growing on the pellicle of the kernel, not on the kernel itself. MR. MANGELSDORF: Right. DR. MCKAY: Black walnut kernels are outstanding in their resistance to heat and will get rancid very slowly under conditions of high heat--not humidity. For example, we had some nuts in our attic for two summers in a place where it gets very hot, yet dry. Those nuts are in very good eating condition today. I don't know about pecans. MR. MANGELSDORF: That's very true of black walnuts. Pecans have to be carried throughout the season in our cracking operations under refrigeration, but the black walnuts we can store out in any shed with tin roof. The temperature gets very hot, and it seems to have no effect whatever on the edibility or rancidity of the nut kernel. MR. STOKE: You spoke of storing the whole nuts in large bins. There you may have an extreme amount of mold, too, if the nuts are damp. MR. MANGELSDORF: We try to have storage conditions such that air has free passage through the bulk of nuts. The mold and the yeast are there and when they start to grow, their metabolism throws off quite a large amount of heat. As a result the molding process is speeded up like a chain reaction, and before long the nuts will be worthless for shelling. MR. MANGELSDORF: We had nuts until just a few weeks ago from our last season's gatherings. That's almost a whole year. MR. SALZER: Can you tell me if the farmer is paid by the weight of the nuts, or does he receive his pay after the kernels are shelled out? Does he receive more money if it contains a higher percent of kernels?