MISCELLANEA. 
381 
pupil was dilated and the eye enlarged—in others it was dimi¬ 
nished in size, and the pupil contracted. 
The fish thus diseased usually swam turned on one side, and 
that generally answering to the eye that was most aflfected. 
When they changed their position, they made several 'pirouettes 
with their heads depressed, until, as it would appear, they had 
obtained the position least painful to them. In this way we 
were enabled to distinguish at a distance the fish that were dis¬ 
eased. This disease usually continued during several months 
before it destroyed the sufterer, but in course of time he invaria¬ 
bly perished. The body seemed to have acquired some degree 
of hardness, and it was a considerable time before decomposition 
commenced ; but perhaps this was principally to be accounted 
for by the coldness of the season, when the disease was most 
prevalent. 
It was at the end of the third year that cataract began to 
appear. It usually attacked both eyes at the same time, and 
then it was most dangerous. The mortality now sadly increased. 
The crystalline lens acquired the hardness of a pebble. 
The cause of these diseases seemed to be the obscure situa¬ 
tion of the reservoir; for the fish in the basin in the middle of 
the garden were unaffected, and those that were attacked in the 
reservoir, being placed in a glass in a light situation, partially 
recovered their sight. There were two, especially, that seemed 
to be dying when they were taken from the reservoir, and in one 
of whom, after a while, no disease could be perceived. The 
other continued blind, but he was lively, and swam about as well 
as he could on one side. 
I took one of the fish whose eyes were very prominent, and 
pierced the cornea with a needle ; scarcely any fluid escaped :— 
but on the same day the eye became exceedingly red, as would 
be the case w'ith any other animal on whom a similar operation 
had been performed, and the iris wounded. A few days after¬ 
wards the eye was evidently diminished in size; but the fish 
plainly continued to suffer great pain ; and I think the opera¬ 
tion was injurious rather than beneficial. 
The two fish to whom I principally allude often seemed to dis¬ 
agree, and fought with each other, although they were very 
unequal in size. They appeared to be in almost a comatose 
state when the weather suddenly changed, and particularly when 
the south wind blew with violence. They both died suddenly, 
after having been exposed in their glass several days to the light 
and heat of the sun. 
These maladies causing considerable loss among our golden 
fish, either absolutely destroying them, or rendering them evi- 
