SEA-FISHERIES LABORATORY. 159 



were also sent to Liverpool after being found dead in the 

 pond. 



Bacillus A has some characters in common with 

 Bacillus Salmonis-pestis , which, however, is not viable 

 in sea-water. Whether any of these bacilli thus isolated 

 have an actual connection with the ulceration can only 

 be determined by experiments, such as those of Hume 

 Patterson on B. Salmonis-pestis , with fish living in water 

 to which cultures of the organisms have been added. We 

 hope to carry out experiments of this nature with all three 

 bacilli and to incorporate the results in a future report. 



Conclusions. 



When the disease first appeared in 1905 Johnstone* 

 regarded it as due to an entomophthoran fungus, appar- 

 ently closely related to the genus Conidiobolus, which he 

 discovered in the viscera (liver, kidney, and mesenteries) 

 of some of the affected fish. He notes the characteristic 

 ulceration of the surface of the body. This fungus we 

 believe to have been a secondary condition. The fish 

 which died in 1905 were affected with the same super- 

 ficial ulceration as those which we have examined, and 

 this condition has been constantly present among the Port 

 Erin fish ever since. None of the fish which we have 

 seen have shown any signs of fungus in any of the viscera, 

 and it was by no means constantly present even in the fish 

 which Johnstone examined. He remarks that though 

 many of the dead fish showed no signs of fungus, the 

 surface lesions were of the same nature in all the fish. 

 He was unable to find any trace of fungus in the ulcers. 

 We believe, therefore, that this fungus was a secondary 

 condition, the case being comparable to that of salmon 

 disease. This fungus appears to have died out. 

 *Rcp. Lane. Sea-Fish. Lab. XIV, 1905 (1U0G), p. 17!). 



