COW-POX. 235 



not appear to be less frequent on the hills than in the vale. 

 It has been seen primarily on the stall-fed as well as on the 

 grazing animal. 



" Origin of the disease. I have met with several intelli- 

 gent dairymen whose relatives had seen good reason to ascribe 

 its occurrence to the contagion of the equine vesicle, com- 

 municated by the hands of the attendant of both animals ; 

 but very little of that disease has been noticed of late years, 

 though I know of several farriers who have been affected 

 from the horse, and resisted subsequent variolation or vacci- 

 nation, and have seen a few who distinguish between the 

 equine vesicle and the grease, a recurrent disease eczema 

 impetiginodes as it appears to me. For many years past, 

 however, the spontaneous origin of the variolse vaccinse in 

 the cow has not been doubted here. In all the cases that I 

 have noticed I never could discover the probability of any 

 other source. 



" There is much difficulty in determining with precision, 

 at all times, whether the disease arises primarily in one or 

 more individuals in the same dairy; most commonly, how- 

 ever, it appears to be solitary. The milkers pretend in 

 general to point out the infecting individual ; but as I have 

 more than once detected the disease in a late stage on an 

 animal not suspected of having it, I am not very prone to 

 confide in their representations, unless my own inspection 

 confirms or renders them probable."* 



* " An early conviction of the necessity of almost entire self-depend- 

 ence in these dairy investigations soon led to the adoption of the follow- 

 ing rules : 



" 1st, Not to be too fastidious in my footsteps. 



" 2nd, To be on the best possible terms with the milkers. 



"3rd, To obtain all possible information from them, and believe 

 nothing important which could not be confirmed. 



