THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



123 



the appearance of which promptly led the Senate of 

 Lubeck to interdict the passage of cattle into its 

 territory, unless accompanied with a certificate of 

 their being in a perfect state of health, and 

 created also much anxiety as to whether the malady 

 might not soon extend to our own country. The 

 alarm, however, seems to have arisen out of the circum- 

 stance that pleuro-pneumonia, which had occasionally 

 of late years affected the cattle in Mecklenburg, in 

 common with other continental states, showed itself 

 somewhat suddenly in March, 1856, at the village of 

 Great Go'non, near to Steinberg. Its outbreak is attri- 

 buted to the introduction of some cattle from Bavaria ; 

 and it appears that the "court cattle which were in the 

 same stable" were subsequently attacked. After the 

 death of several, the remainder of the animals were 

 killed, and buried entire. 



This summary proceeding appears to have arrested 

 the disease in that particular village ; but cases are said 

 to have occurred in other parts of the Duchies. The 

 interdict which was laid on the estate of Great Gornon 

 concerning the " expt rt, import, and transit of cattle, 

 immediately on the outbreak of the disease," was not, 

 however, removed until Oct. 1st of the same year, after 

 which time free intercourse was allowed. 



On this fact being officially communicated to the 

 authorities at Liibeck, and also that the whole of Meck- 

 lenburg was free from the disease, the Senate removed 

 the restrictions which had been placed in the wny of 

 cattle entering their territory ; but, as has been ob- 

 served in that part of this report which specially refers 

 to Jjiibeck, these were again enforced in February of 

 the present year, in consequence of the re-appearance of 

 the disease in the Duchies of Mecklenburg. 



On the 24th of December, 1856, the Commissioners 

 of our Customs published an order with regard to a 

 more rigid examination by the Inspectors of Foreign 

 Cattle, " with special reference to a contagious disease 

 called ' murrain,' which has recently broken out amongst 

 the horned cattle of Mecklenburg." Count Bulow, 

 Minister to the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 

 complained of this order to Lord Blomfield, her Ma- 

 jesty's Ambassador to the Court of Prussia, and re- 

 quested that the attention of the Home Government 

 might be directed to it ; and Lord Blomfield thereupon 

 sent a despatch to the Earl of Clarendon, to the follow- 

 infif effect : 



" Berlin, January 23, 1857. 



"My Lord, — I have the honour to inclose to your lord- 

 ship herewith a copy of a enmmunication which I have 

 received from Count Bulow, Minister of his Royal High- 

 ness the Grand Duke of Meeklcnburg-Schwerin, requesting 

 me to draw the attention of her Majesty's Government to 

 the injurious effects which the publication of the Custom 

 House order, published in London the ■24th December, 

 1856', respecting the importation of cattle, alleged to be 

 diseased, from the Mecklenburi^ States, is likely to have on 

 the conmierce of the country. Count Bulow states that 

 'the cattle murrain," alluded to in this order as now exist- 

 ing iu Mecklenburg, has only manifested itself twice, for a 

 short period, during the years lo55, 1856; and that in 

 each case measures of such a stringent nature were taken 

 as efTcctually arrested the spreading of the disease, inso- 

 much that since the Ist of October last all the measures of 

 precaution that were in force for its prevention have been 

 suspended by the official order to this etl'ect, a copy of 

 v/liich Count Bulow has transmitted to me, and which, in 

 original and translation, I have the honour to for^Yard 

 herewith to your lordship. " I have, &c., 



(Signed) "Blomfield." 



From this and all the additional information which we 

 have collected, it would appear that there was very little 

 cause for danger to be apprehended, and none in so 

 far as our country was concerned, from the state of the 

 health of the cattle of Mecklenburg, the so-calltd 



"murrain" being only the affection known as pleuro- 

 pneumonia. 



Saxony. 



This kingdom is perfectly free from rinderpest, and 

 has been so for many years. Scarcely any apprehensions 

 are entertained that the disease would reach the country, 

 even if it were to encroach very much more upon the 

 Prussian frontiers of Russia and Poland, or prevail to a 

 far greater extent than it has recently done in Silesia, 

 as the severity with which the preventive laws of those 

 countries is carried out is viewed as affording all the 

 security which is required. 



Eczema epizootica has been somewhat rife of late, and 

 many cases are still to be met with. Pleuro-pneumonia 

 has only existed in a sporadic form in Saxony and Cen- 

 tral Germany, and has, therefore, not excited so much 

 of the public attention here as elsewhere. The laws in 

 force with reference to cattle diseases are almost identi- 

 cal with those which have already been made mention of 

 in this report. 



The investigations in Saxony completed our inspection 

 of the chief course of the river Elbe, and showed that 

 all the countries through which it flows were entirely 

 free from the rinderpest, a result equally as satisfactory 

 as that which had previously been ascertained with re- 

 ference to the Weser. 



Prussia. 



Finding that the rinderpest had no existence in the 

 countries we had already passed through, we proceeded 

 to Berlin with a view of going to Konigsburg,and thence 

 into Courland, as, according to the information we were 

 at present in possession of, it was here that the malady 

 was prevailing to some considerable extent. 



Arriving at Berlin, we first called on the professors of 

 the Veterinary School, who, by virtue of their appoint- 

 ments under Government, are always put in possession 

 of the latest information with regard to the existence 

 and extent of contagious diseases among domesticated 

 animals. From them we learned that the entire district 

 we had proposed to visit was now perfectly free from the 

 pest, and that, if it existi'd anywhere in Prussia, it would 

 probably be found in the neighbourhood of Breslau, in 

 the province of Silesia. They further also informed us 

 that there was but little chance of our being able to 

 study the nature and symptons of the pest in any part 

 of the Prussian dominions, from the summary proceed- 

 ings which are invariably had recourse to, for its imme- 

 diate extirpation, and that for the purpose of seeing the 

 malady in its different stages, we should have to go 

 into Austro-Poland, or some other part of the Austrian ' 

 empire, where the laws are somewhat less stringent, and 

 not so rigorously enforced as in Prussia. We ascer- 

 tained also that in all probability, in the event of our 

 succeeding in obtaining an entrance within the Prussian 

 military cordon, we should not be allowed to repass it in 

 a less period than three weeks, and even then we should 

 most likely have to leave the clothes we had worn be- 

 hind us, besides having ourselves to undergo a disinfect- 

 ing process. 



Under these circumstances we sought an interview 

 with Lord Augustus Loftus, her Majesty's Charg^ 

 cV Affaires, in the absence of Lord Blomfield, minister 

 at Berlin, with a view of obtaining from the Govern, 

 ment of Prussia the latest particulars with regard to the 

 location of the malady, and that amount of assistance 

 and protection which we needed for the fulfilment of 

 our mission. 



This interview was at once granted, and we were 

 most courteously received by his lordship, who mani- 

 fested the liveliest interest in the question, and also ex- 

 pressed his willingness to do all he could in furtherance 

 of our object. His lordship explained at some length 

 his views as to the absolute necessity of keeping up of a 



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