198 THE CONTAGIOUS TYPHUS 



such distinct characters as to produce a per- 

 fect agreement among all medical writers, we 

 must, however, admit, that to designate the 

 ox -typhus now before us by the generic name 

 of PLAGUE, after the Germans, who have given 

 it the name of RINDERPEST, would carry us too 

 far back. 



Let us acknowledge also, that the denomi- 

 nation of contagious typhus, adopted by the 

 French veterinary doctors, is not, any more 

 than the designation of TYPHUS FEVER, applied 

 to it by English physicians, totally free from 

 objection. 



In truth, the various species of typhus whose 

 characteristics we have already given (see p. 7 3), 

 are all of them febrile and contagious. Who- 

 ever uses the word typhus, speaks of a conta- 

 gious and febrile malady, inasmuch as we 

 cannot conceive typhus without its accom- 

 paniments, fever and contagion. But as the 

 prevailing characteristic of this infectious 

 disease is, above all, its contagion, we have pre- 

 ferred to adopt the name of contagious typhus, 

 without, however, deceiving ourselves as to 

 the value of the denomination. The final 



