c 



Then there is Camillas Leonardus. No more 

 notice has been taken of what he tells us, than if he 

 had never existed. I suppose the fact is, we are all 

 so full of our Reform bills, spirit Tappings, railway 

 schemes, Davenport Brothers, and other interests of 

 the day, that we have no time or attention left for 

 the valuable experiences and discoveries of by-gone 

 times. Now let us see what Camillus Leonardus 

 tells us. He says the real remedies for all diseases 

 are the precious stones. He says that the emerald 

 prevents epilepsy, and unmasks the delusions of the 

 devil. He says the serpentine cures dropsy, because 

 if people stand with it in a very hot sun for three 

 hours, they break out into a profuse perspiration. 

 He says that red coral strengthens digestion, if 

 worn about the person ; that red cornelian cures 

 dysentery; that green jasper prevents fever ; and 

 that chrysolite held in the hand cures fever. Now 

 the cattle plague is a fever. No doubt a cow can- 

 not hold a precious stone in its hand, but it can 

 wear one about its person ; and what I say is that 

 these things ought at least to have been tried. 



And now I will proceed to mention one or t\vo 

 rather curious historical parallels. 



In the " Hexenhammer," a book of witchcraft, 

 published first in 1489, we read that the devil 

 teaches witches how to make magic ointment for 

 the destruction of cattle, and that if the door posts 

 of cow-houses be smeared with this ointment, the 

 cows will immediately become diseased. 



