192 EFFECTS OF WEATHER CHAP. fl. 1. 



which, though by their conjoint influence, they 

 predispose to, and often aggravate its effects, 

 have nevertheless a tendency to mislead our 

 judgment as to the manner and extent of its 

 operation. 



Animals, particularly those which tire do- 

 mesticated, on which alone we can make any 

 accurate observations, have many sources of 

 disorder, though not so many as man has. 

 They may suffer from hunger, from unnatural 

 food, from fatigue, or from accidental injury, 

 which may produce disease, and which may 

 be the cause of their becoming affected by 

 peculiarities in the air: notwithstanding their 

 comparative freedom from the evils of intoxi- 

 cation, gluttony, and mental perturbation, that 

 prove so frequently destructive to the human 

 subject. The almost simultaneous occurrence 

 of canine hydrophobia in distant parts of 

 the country must be ascribed partly to some 

 peculiarity in the atmosphere; while the cir- 

 cumstance of its occurring primarily only in 

 a few Dogs, would lead us to consider some 

 preexisting, and, perhaps, unnoticed state of 

 disorder in the animal, as conducive to the 

 more violent affection subsequently excited by 



