[3] RETTING WATER INJURIOUS TO FISH. 547 
wereeaten. I myself once partook of such fish, which had been allowed 
to lie in fresh water for several hours before they were killed. But even 
after they were cooked they still smelled and tasted of the retting water, 
and all who ate of this dish felt the bad consequences. 
“The inhaling of this pestiferous air for weeks and weeks certainly 
requires the attention of the health authorities. 
‘Mortification of the spleen, which is so frequent in the valley of the 
Nesse among sheep, cattle, and hogs, and which is exceedingly conta- 
gious, is quite probably produced by the drinking of retting water.” 
The above valuable communication by Mr. Wilke directs attention to 
the injurious influence of retting water on public health, and very justly, 
for we know now that putrefying substances are most effective in 
spreading contagious diseases. I have personally convinced myself of 
the very disagreeable impurities with which the air is tainted by the 
retting of flax, and which became especiadly noticeable during the slow 
drying process of the decaying flax. 
In order to subject this matter to chemical tests, I obtained a con- 
siderable quantity of retting water, which, however, was tolerably clear 
and odorless, so that it could hardly possess many injurious qualities. 
These are not developed till the last stage of decomposition. Experi- 
ments made on a large scale to obtain vegetable poisons from this water 
led to no result. This determined me to obtain fresh flax-plants and, 
on a small scale, to go through the whole retting process. 
For this purpose I laid a bunch of flax in water; after a few days 
gases began to develop, the water began to assume a brownish color, 
and finally complete decay set in, accompanied by the development of 
offensive gases, &c. As soon as the flax had reached this stage of de- 
composition, and the fiber could easily be separated from the outer 
(brittle) portions of the plant, I made the following experiments : 
I.—WITH LIVE FISH. 
In these experiments I used both kinds of whiting, such as are found 
in the river Saale, and which on the whole are an exceedingly tender fish, 
and bastard carp, weighing about 3-500 grams. The last-mentioned kind 
of fish is better able to stand a change of water. These fish had been 
living in running water of a temperature of 7° to 9° C., which is the 
usual temperature of water in spring time. In these experiments I 
therefore endeavored to keep the water at exactly the same temperature 
as that from which the fish had been taken. Some of the fish were put 
aside in the water in which they had been living, and some were placed 
in water mixed with retting water. In the fresh water the fish kept for 
several days without undergoing any change, so that they could again 
be transferred to the running water. The retting water was obtained 
by soaking flax for five days. ~ 
One part retting water and three parts running water mixed.—The fish 
placed in this water immediately showed signs of uneasiness, gasped un- 
