In the Stable, Field, and on the Road. 37 



and to fortify nature, for it was a poison, says this writer, 

 which gave rise to the disorder and was the cause of 

 fever. Precautions were taken to have all the healthy 

 horses removed from the infected stables, and they were 

 not to return to them until they had been fumigated, 

 whitewashed, and otherwise cleaned. Solleysel desig- 

 nated it a fievre pestilentrelle, very deadly at its com- 

 mencement, but afterwards amenable to medical treat- 

 ment. A catarrhal fever had been epidemic the previous 

 year. Again, the years 1688 and 1693 were marked by 

 epidemic influenza and epizootic influenza. In 1712 the 

 horses of Europe were again attacked with epizootic 

 influenza, but the records collected are very imperfect. 

 It was not until the year 1727 that the records notice 

 the erratic or invasive character of the disease. This 

 peculiarity is noticed in a chronological history of the 

 weather and of the prevailing diseases of Dublin, by Mr 

 John Kutty, M.D., London, 1 770. He says, " In Novem- 

 ber in Staffordshire and Shropshire horses were suddenly 

 seized with cough and weakness, disabling them from 

 work. In December, both in Dublin and the remote 

 parts of the kingdom, horses were seized with a cough 

 and shortness of breath, and sometimes sore throat ; some 

 bled at the nose, others had a large discharge of thick 

 phlegm from the nose, which, being long-continued, was 

 salutiferous; some died in the streets, partly through 

 improper medicine. In 1732 influenza swept over 

 Europe and North America ; its effect on mankind, and 

 its progress from place to place, are fully and carefully 

 recorded." It was also epizootic, as appears from the 

 following extract from Medical Essays and Observations^ 



