Io FISH—CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. 
trough were so affected, and in addition to the “liver complaint,” 
the blue swelling, or “dropsy,” appeared. The latter was fatal 
in every case, the microscope showing a deposit of watery fluid 
between the two membranes of the sac, in which great numbers 
of blood corpuscles could be seen drifting about. 
No. 3 shows one form which followed. In this the part cut 
off from the circulation by the constriction seemed to wither 
away, and I suspect that in these specimens only a small portion 
was affected. No. 4 shows a small globe separated from the sac 
by a cord; and this globe is clear and has no sign of an opaque 
spot or injury. No.5 shows a larger portion of the sac cut off 
by the cord and held suspended, giving somewhat the appearance 
of the sac and umbilical cord of the skate. Thus far I had but 
small hopes of the fish surviving, until one day while trying to 
capture a lively fellow which had a large ball hanging by a 
string, the fish made a sudden turn to escape the feather, which 
was under it, and I saw the cord break and that portion of the 
sac contained in the ball fall tothe bottom. That particular fish 
was soon lost in the mass and could not be identified. In No. 6 
are to be seen specimens which have lost the pendant ball and 
are about ready to take food. Of the original fifteen thousand 
in the infected trough, about three thousand died with blue 
swelling, and two thousand more from other causes, leaving ten 
thousand fry now taking food, of which a greater portion have 
lost some part of their sac. I firmly believe that had I not ap- 
pled a remedy promptly the whole lot would have been past 
saving if left in that trough twenty-four hours more. 
I do not know that any such experience is on record, and will 
frankly say that I should have considered this a very suspicious 
story if told by some fish-culturist whom I do not know, or at 
least, a story that required verification ; and while Iam aware 
that it actually happened, I cannot help feeling that some per- 
sons may suspect that a mistake has been made in some material 
point. To this Ican only answer, “ Here are my specimens, 
and I have seen the cast-off balls from the sac in the bottom of 
the trough where the fry which were affected as described are 
now swimming and feeding.” When I say that I might have 
considered sucha story a “suspicious one,” I do not wish to be un- 
