374 Proceedings of the Royal Society 
Many of the fish looked, when in the water, as if covered with a 
halo, remaining at the surface nearly motionless, frequently putting 
their mouths out of the water, and turning belly uppermost immedi- 
ately before death. On examination, the fungus was found to be 
most thickly matted on the shoulders just behind the head, clogging 
up the gill openings, on the pectoral fins, and tail portion of the 
body. Whenever ulceration had taken place, it was seen to he due 
to the fungus, as the parts most ulcerated were those most densely 
covered with fungus. Death was caused by suffocation in every 
instance. 
The last fungus epidemic which occured at Ightham moat and 
ponds began in the latter end of October of the present year, and 
continued to the middle of November. About eight or ten days 
after it had commenced, and numbers of the fish were observed to 
be dying, Dr Church very kindly favoured me by sending a number 
of specimens that had died in the water, and also a number that 
were affected with the fungus but were still alive when taken from 
the water. Dr Church informs me that in this epidemic it was 
chiefly the fish in the moat which were affected and died, and only 
a few in the lower pond were observed to be affected ; none were 
found affected in the stews and upper pond, although the stews 
were swarming with fish. As during the epidemic of 1874, the 
roach and dace suffered first and worst ; the pike, perch, and eels 
have not been affected during this epidemic. 
The diseased fish sent to me by Dr Church were roach, 17 in 
number; 7 were dead when taken out of the water, and 10 were 
alive when taken. They average 2 oz. in weight each, and were all 
packed in fresh grass ; those taken alive were put at the bottom of 
the box, with grass under and over them, and the others at the top 
of the box were packed in a similar way. The fish at the top of the 
box were overlying each other, and appeared as if they were enclosed 
in a common envelope of fungus, and such was actually the case ; 
the fungus having continued to grow vegetatively, had, as it were, 
woven the whole group in a web of fungus. The new growth had 
a perceptible pink tint, the same as I had seen upon a greyling sent 
to me from the river Tweed last spring, and may possibly be the 
natural colour of the fungus when it grows in the air. I confirm Dr 
Church’s statement that the fungus was S. ferax and identical with 
