CHAPTER IV. 



MR GAMGEE ORIGIN OF CHOLERA THIRD RE 

 PORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS THE ANALYZ- 

 ING FACULTY " THE TIMES/' 



DR. PRUNER in his work on the diseases of the 

 East describes the cattle plague in Egypt. Accord- 

 ing- to him the chief causes of it were the use of 

 improper and insufficient food, and animals being* 

 cooped up and crowded tog-ether. Mr. Gamgee's 

 proof of the fallacy of this opinion is charming'. 

 He says, " no weight can be attached to Dr. 

 Primer's theory as to the cause of the disease, from 

 the fact that similar views are constantly entertained 

 regarding- fresh outbreaks of the plag-ue." I suppose 

 he would say that no weig-ht can be attached to the 

 idea that food allays hunger, from the fact that 

 similar views are constantly entertained regarding 

 fresh instances of accessions of hunger. 



Mr. Gamgee says Aberdeenshire is an instance 

 of the success of stamping out. To be sure the 

 disease reappeared five times in that county, and had 

 to be stamped out five times ; still this only shows 

 how useless is any system limited to one county. 

 Now what a delicious muddle this is. The rapid 

 transition of argument to account for the second fact, 

 which contradicts the first, is like the school boy and 

 his penknife. 



