4736 Calendar of Natural Phenomena. 



unusual-looking birds he did not take them to any connoisseur, but, 

 after a little debate with his wife, they agreed to make an Easter 

 Sunday dinner of them, which they accordingly did. These birds 

 proved to be a pair of the beautiful and rare white spoonbills (Platalea 

 leucorodia), and, much to their chagrin, the worthy couple found that 

 they had made a dear repast, although obtained for nothing : an 

 esteemed friend of mine, who then lived in this house, and who 

 possesses a beautiful collection of British birds, stuffed with his own 

 hand, would willingly have given five guineas to have added so 

 valuable a desideratum to them ; but I believe they did not even save 

 their spoons. 



In making observations on Natural History it is necessary that the 

 observer be extremely careful, lest he be led astray by one of the 

 numerous fallacies to which he is especially liable, and to set down 

 with caution any extraordinary circumstance, making due allowance 

 for sources of error. 1 am led to this remark by something which 

 occurred about the middle of the month : observing a number of dead 

 fishes accumulated in a certain reach of the river, I was led to examine 

 more closely, when I found that in a space of about 150 yards there 

 were 182 dead fishes. Now and then 1 took from the water a fish 

 which floated by, but still gasped for breath, although incapable of 

 motion. All these fishes were more or less covered with a sort of 

 fungoid growth, which, I was well aware, generally proved fatal when 

 it appeared upon them, gradually spreading all over them, and de- 

 stroying their vital functions. Moreover, on a further examination, I 

 found that, with the exception of a very few dace [Leuciscus vulgaris) 

 and bleak (L. albumus), all these fishes were roach (L. rutitus\ and 

 not a single perch (Perca fluviatilis) w T as to be seen among them, 

 although these last fish are very plentiful in the river. On a prima 

 facie view of this evidence I was inclined to believe that this disease 

 had been epidemic among the roach, or was at least confined to the 

 genus Leuciscus. In this mind I made further inquiries, and at 

 length elucidated the mystery. On asking the fisherman who rents 

 the water whether he had thrown away any fish, he told me as follows : 

 having received an order for a number of live roach he netted the re- 

 quired quantity, and placed them in his live-box, to be ready when 

 sent for. One night the box broke its moorings and disappeared : it 

 was upwards of three weeks before it was discovered, and during 

 that time the fish had become what the fishermen aptly enough call 

 "furred," the almost inevitable result of the confinement of too great 

 a number of fish in a small space for too long a time: as they were 



