Paper, 'On rigor mortis in fish, and its relation to putrefaction' by J [James Cossar] Ewart Ewart writes: 'It has been long recognised that rigor varies extremely not only in the time of its appearance, but also in its intensity. It may be well marked and resemble closely a spasm, or so indistinct that it is better compared to a stiffening than to a contraction of the muscles. So much is this the case that it might be convenient to describe rigor as accompanied with contraction in some cases and with stiffening in others. I have often noticed that when rigor comes on immediately after the loss of muscular irritability, it looks extremely like contraction; but when it is postponed for days, by lowering the temperature or otherwise, it more closely resembles coagulation.' Annotations in pencil and ink. Subject: Physiology / Putrefaction Received 6 June 1887. Read 16 June 1887. Communicated by John Scott Burdon-Sanderson. A version of this paper was published in volume 42 of the Proceedings of the Royal Society as 'On rigor mortis in fish, and its relation to putrefaction'. 1887