30 



or three years ago great complaints reached him from 

 Bristol, where a large number of very fine mackerel were 

 brought in, and the town was in an uproar, because it was 

 said that these fish were full of parasites, and they would 

 destroy all the good people of Bristol who ate them. Any- 

 one who paid attention to fish must be aware that certain 

 nematoid parasites were extremely common, but the fish 

 were none the worse for them, and as to people catching 

 them, in the first place they were not the same kind as 

 those which infest man, and, secondly the fish were going 

 to be cooked ; and although the idea was not pleasant, 

 cooked parasites per se were not any worse than cooked 

 fish. As to the prevalence of parasites having anything 

 to do with fish not being eaten at the right time of year, 

 he did not think anyone familiar with fish would be likely 

 to entertain that idea. 



Mr. FELL WOODS then proposed a vote of thanks to the 

 Marquis of Hamilton for his conduct in the chair, as well 

 as for the great earnestness and energy with which he had 

 devoted himself to the work of the Exhibition. With 

 regard to the question of parasites, he had observed that 

 the cockle at a certain stage abounded with a little parasite, 

 which seemed to leave it in a perfectly healthy condition, 

 and in no way interfered with it as an article of food if 

 cooked, but there was this disadvantage that it did seem to 

 interfere entirely with the fertility of the fish. The same 

 thing occurred in the oyster in the Mediterranean. 



Professor HONEYMAN seconded the vote of thanks, which 

 was carried unanimously. 



The CHAIRMAN, in responding, said they had had a most 

 edifying discussion in connection with the various diseases 

 of fishes. They had had the opinion of two very eminent 

 gentlemen from Canada, and he was certain that Englishmen 



