The Cattle- F la rjue. 271 



in 1665 ; and tliis was the earliest record, as far as lie was aware, 

 of the disease in England, though there were many earlier ones of its 

 existence in Continental Europe. 



In 1714-15 the disease seemed to have been imported into this 

 country; but those who chronicled its history had not given any 

 particulars as to the manner in which it was introduced. It is, 

 however, known to have existed not only in Vv^estern Europe, but also 

 in Italy, in 1711-12. It made its way in 1714 to Holland, and was 

 thus directly opposite England. There were then no restrictions of 

 sufficient force to prevent persons from introducing animals from the 

 Continent, so that there could be little doubt that we got the disease 

 from the Netherlands on that occasion. It did not prevail in England 

 for any great length of time, and was chiefly confined to the ncighboui'- 

 hood of London. An account was extant of certain regulations or 

 Orders in Council having been issued, which had for their object the 

 destruction of the infected animals, and the payment to individual 

 owners of a certain sum of money : the country sustained some con- 

 siderable loss — he believed about 5000 animals. The number of bulls 

 and cows lost, as rej^orted by Bates, were in Middlesex, Essex, and 

 Surrey 5418, and of calves 439. Diu'ing that outbreak, which lasted 

 about six months, measures were adopted by which, to use a now 

 prevalent expression, the disease was "stamped out." 



The next outbreak was in 1745, which extended to 1757. In that 

 case the disease was xmquestionably imported from Holland, and had 

 its existence generally in Western Eiu'ope. Its introduction had been 

 attributed by one authority to two calves having been brought to 

 Poj)lar, and by another to some skins imported from Zealand. How- 

 ever that might be, he was of opinion that the disease was introduced 

 by direct infection from animals in some form or other. It was im- 

 portant to notice the time at which it made its appearance in 1745 ; 

 and, upon looking over an old work by Dr. Theophilus Lobb, he found 

 some excellent remarks respecting it. Dr. Lobb said : — 



"There is in the 'London Gazette' of Saturday, May 25th, 1745, the 

 following paragraph, viz.: — 'Hamburgh, May 19th, N.S. — The mortaUty 

 among the horned cattle has now reached within a German mile and a hah of 

 the Balhage of Pinnenberg contiguous to the territory of Hambourg, Avhich is 

 of little extent on the side of Danish Holstein. The appearance of this same 

 distemper at Hambourg gives an alarm lest it sliould gain further on that side 

 of the country. Proper precautions are used to prevent its spreading and to 

 get the better of it in its beginning, which is attributed to some infected cattle 

 having passed through there. This evil has communicated itself likewise to 

 the Danish islands of Zeeland and Fuhnen.'" 



Thus it was probably about the middle of the summer of 1745 that 

 the disease was imported into England. 



The next outbreak of which there was any record was a j)artial one, 

 which occurred in 1769, reached its acme in 1770, and extended with 

 little outbreaks here and there in different parts of the country dov^Ti 

 to 1771. The districts chiefly affected at that time were Hampshire 

 and Banffshire ; and it was remarkable that the disease shoidd have 

 appeared simultaneously in two districts so far apart as these. ^ It 



