726 Proceedings of the Royal Society 
3. Notes on the Fungus Disease affecting Salmon. By A. B. 
Stirling, Assistant Conservator of the Anatomical Museum 
in the University of Edinburgh. Communicated by Pro- 
fessor Turner. 
It is widely known that a destructive epidemic has this spring 
appeared among the salmon of the rivers Eden, Esk, and Nith. 
The mortality among the fish has been so great as to cause consider- 
able alarm among proprietors, salmon commissioners, taxmen, 
anglers, and the general public. 
The newspapers inform us that within three days the watchers 
have taken out of the Esk as many as 350 dead salmon. All who 
have examined the fish carefully, agree in referring the disease to 
the presence of a fungoid growth. 
The other fish in those rivers, as the smolts, trout, eels, lampreys, 
minnows, pike, and flounders, are also said to be attacked in a 
similar way to the salmon, aud fears are entertained that the disease 
may become thoroughly established in the district. 
In these circumstances, I have thought it might be interesting to 
describe the condition of some of the fish which have come under 
my observation. In March last my friend Dr Philip Hair of Car- 
lisle sent me the fin of a salmon which had been affected by the 
disease, and requested me to state if possible its nature. Unfor- 
tunately, the fin was in a putrid condition when it reached me, and 
as a result of the examination, I could only state to Dr Hair that 
the disease was probably a fungoid one. A few days later I received 
from Dr Hair a fine specimen of a trout, but it was not stated 
whether the fish was taken alive or picked up dead. It was, how- 
ever, quite fresh, and the effects of the disease were painfully 
exhibited on the carcase. A hurried examination of this specimen 
enabled me to inform Dr Hair that the disease was due to what I 
had previously suspected, namely, a fungoid growth. 
While examining this specimen, I observed entangled among the 
fronds of the fungus foreign matter of various kinds, namely, torulse 
or yeast fungus, triple phosphates, fecula, human hairs, hairs of the 
cat and the mouse, also desmids, diatoms, shreds of dyed wool and 
cotton, with other fragments of matter unknown to me. Respecting 
the torulse, I, in my letter to Dr Hair, asked if their presence could 
