246 Proceedings of the Royal Society 
there was only one raw sore. This sore was only fths of an inch 
in length and fths in breadth. It had evidently been larger, and 
had a smooth healing border. All the upper surface of the head 
and snout were covered with skin, but very uneven over its whole 
surface, from depressions and projections which may have been 
caused by sores which have been healed over, and the hinder part 
of the operculum had an irregular cicatrix of considerable size upon 
it. The breast and belly, from the gill coverts to the vent, were 
blood-streaked and spotted, and there were brownish marks upon 
both its back and sides as if fungus had recently adhered to it. All 
the fins were entire, — not one ray was broken ; and the fish as a 
whole looked remarkably well for a kelt, and if it had been 
affected with fungus, which I fully believe, its recovery has been 
almost perfect. 
A salmon taken at some distance up the river, and which is 
affected with fungus, has been taken down to Berwick and placed 
in a box or corve, and is now anchored in the river, in the tideway, 
where the water is at all times less or more salt, and at intervals is 
towed out to sea, where the full influence of the salt water acts upon 
it ; and when I last heard of it considerable improvement had taken 
place. Mr G. H. List has paid particular attention to the detection 
of any fish being affected with fungus disease in any of the coast 
fishing stations ; and, after the most careful inquiry, no trace of any 
fish in the least degree diseased at any of those stations could be 
got, nor, as far as any fishermen either knew or heard of, was any 
salmon with fungus upon it ever seen in salt water. 
I have tried to propagate this fungus upon dead flies, spiders, and 
other small animals, following the directions of Pringsheim, 
“ JS A. A. L. C.,” 1851, p. 417,* who says — “All that is required 
to obtain a living specimen of this singular plant is to allow the 
body of any small animal, such as a fly or spider, to float for a few 
days in rain water exposed to the light. By this method a crop of 
Saprolegnia may be obtained at any season.” In this way I got a 
fungus upon the flies and spiders after an exposure of from twelve 
to twenty days, which on examination was found to be a common 
* Cited by Dr Burdon Sanderson in his paper on the “ Vegetable Ovum,” 
Cyclopaedia, of Anatomy and Physiology , edited by Dr Todd, 
