BABIES.] 



THE DOG-, AND ITS VARIETIES; 



[rabies. 



this pet spaniel, was mad, and some of the 

 saliva which had fallen from its mouth, had 

 remained on the coat of the spaniel, and by 

 which the man had been inoculated. 



Eabies, or hydrophobia, a few years ago 

 exhibited itself to such a serious extent in 

 Stainborough Park, near Barnsley, as to excite 

 the alarm of the inhabitants of that locality, 

 and to attract the attention of medical men. 

 The disease first began to show itself on a 

 small scale, immediately after a mad dog was 

 said to have been roaming about the locality. 

 Nearly one hundred deer in a short time 

 fell victims to its effects. While in a state 

 of disease, these otherwise innocent and play- 

 ful animals foamed at the mouth, worried each 

 other like dogs, and tore off each other's hair 

 and flesh ; and when placed in a state of con- 

 finement, bit at whatever came within their 

 reach. Attention was drawn to the matter 

 through a child belonging to one of the work- 

 men on the estate having been bitten. This 

 caused an alarm, which led to a medical gen- 

 tleman (Mr. M. T. Sadler, of Barnsley) being 

 called in. He issued a timely caution to the 

 inhabitants, calling upon all to be on their 

 guard, to protect themselves and their families 

 from the infliction of so terrible a malady. 



As canine madness suddenly changes the 

 dog into an object of terror and a scourge, of 

 course everything that may be esteemed a 

 remedy for it should be tried. Among others 

 already suggested, the "Berlin Drink" holds a 

 prominent place. It was, and we believe still 

 is, in the possession of a woman residing near 

 Tunbridge. The recipe of it, it is said, is a 

 secret, which has been handed down in the 

 family from generation to generation ; and its 

 efficacy, in the counties around, is so well 

 known and esteemed, that it has, at all times, 

 proved a lucrative legacy to the family. 



Among the numerous instances in which it 

 is said to have been successful, we will adduce 

 one which may excite some surprise. 



The proprietor of a large puck of beagles 

 had his kennel broken into by a rabid dog, 

 and twenty of tlie pack bitten. He luid known 

 many cases successiuUy treated by the *' Berlin 

 Drink," and he determined to try its eftect 

 upon every one of his dogs that had been 

 bitten. His brother, who had been brought 

 up to the medical profession, laughed at the 

 478 



idea, maintained that nothing could save them 

 if once the virus had entered the system, and 

 proposed the total destruction of the whole 

 pack. The other, however, opposed his ex- 

 perience to all the arguments of science. They 

 therefore came to an arrangement which satis- 

 fied both parties. It was agreed that sixteen 

 of the infected hounds should have a dose of 

 the "Berlin Drink," and that the other four 

 should take their chance. 



The consequence was that, in less than six 

 weeks, every one of the four died raging mad, 

 and not one of the sixteen ever showed a 

 symptom of the disease. As this fact has 

 been pretty well authenticated, a more con- 

 vincing proof of its power as an antidote to 

 the virus could hardly be given. In colour 

 and consistence the " Berlin Drink" resembles 

 milk ; and if administered to an animal not 

 inoculated with the poison of rabies, it has no 

 more effect than a cup of milk would have. 

 If, on the contrary, the poison has entered 

 the blood, the eflect of the antidote is very 

 different: it seems to course through every 

 vein like fire, to rack every nerve, and to 

 convulse the system from head to foot. Human 

 patients affirm the agony to be intense ; and it 

 is painful to witness its effect upon a dog. 

 But the struggle is very short; and though, 

 of course, the shock and excitement leave the 

 patient a little weak and depressed, we are 

 told that its administration has never been 

 followed by any fatal result. 



Besides the "Berlin Drink," there is another, 

 called the "Hertfordshire Drink," or Webb's 

 remedy. To this Mr. Blaine alludes in his 

 Bural Sports. " The tree bo^," he says, " is 

 one of the oldest reputed preventives made use 

 of. Mention appears to be made of it in the 

 writings of Hippocrates ; Galen and Celsus 

 likewise speak of it. It has continued to bo 

 used from their time to the present, and it 

 forms the active principle in the remedy com- 

 mon in several counties, but in none more 

 than in Hertfordshire, where it is known, as 

 we stated, under the name of ' Webb's drink,' 

 r-am the family name of the persons who 

 prepare it. The rue which enters into it, in 

 equal proportions, we have little dependence 

 on. The buxus, or box, has long been known 

 in India also ; it is still used there as a pre- 

 ventive of rabies; but it is, we believe, the 



