CHLOROFCRMINC FISH.

Colonist, Volume LII, Issue 12756, 31 March 1910, Page 1

CHLOROFCRMINC FISH.

To tho many strange uses chloroform may be pufc Dr. Francis Ward, of Ipswich, has added yet another. Hechloroformed Jsli— not Jar surgical purposes, but in order that he may obtaiji lneFoiig photographs of them —in their natural environment. "The greatest difficulty I had to, contend with in this fascinTating hobby of photographing fish-th their natural movements in tanks was the rapid and unexpected movements of the subjects," Dr. AVard explains. "The idea, occurred to me that I could make the fish more tractable by means of chloroform. But how to administer the anaethetic ? Eveutually I decided upon the process of drawing the water ■slowly away from the tank, while at tin* same time administering the chlor- | ofonn through another tu.be. -The oxI periment was profoundly interehting. At first the fish became extremely excited, darting . madly from one side of the tank to tJ\p other, -ft appeared | as though my effort was to bo in vain, , but before long lassitude overcame • them, and they rested lazily near the bottom of the tank. Thus I was able 'to make a protracted photographic „ exposure with' excellent results. Continuing my experiments, I found that just before anaesthesia is complete it is posv'bln t-> (ake a photograph of fish in an aggrv: sivc- attitude. Anaesthetics ir e particularly useful in tho photo-microscopy of fish larvae. Once they are removed from tho chloroformed water the subjects rapidly recover."