34 



" Irregular forms are observed, such as the non-appearance 

 of eruption. The fever is intense, strength gone, internal swell- 

 ings take place, and profuse diarrhoea carries off" the animal. 

 The mucous membranes become the seat of the eruption, especially 

 those of the respiratory and digestive organs, when imminent 

 danger is manifest. The animal breathes throi:gh the mouth, 

 and the tongue is protruded. Sometimes the disease aff'ects the 

 joints, and the hoofs slough off; and the healing of wounds becomes 

 very difficult if the scabs are too precipitately removed. At 

 other times the vesicles fill with blood, or become receptacles for 

 gaseous accumulations, which result from the process of decom- 

 position, analogous to that observed in cattle plague and other 

 malignant affections. 



" The post mortem appearances of small-pox are somewhat as 

 follows : — The body is considerably swollen from early decom- 

 position, and gives off a .very fetid odour ; the eyes and nose are 

 usually closed by dry discharges ; scabs of dried pustules stud 

 the lining membranes which, with the skin and other affected 

 parts, exhibit the characteristic eruptions. If the wool has not 

 been detached during the intolerable itching which occurs before 

 death, it now easily comes off — sometimes it absolutely falls 

 off. Vari or nodules occur in the skin and all parts of the body, 

 and are readily seen during the removal of the integuments. 

 These are characteristic, and serve to form a sure guide to the 

 affection when other signs on parts of the body are absent. Those 

 nodules also occur iipon the mucous membranes of the digestive 

 track. Sometimes they assume the character of yellowish or red 

 spots, and at others ulceration has progressed to some extent. 

 Besides these, the tissue beneath is infiltrated with serum, par- 

 ticularly in the extremities ; lymphatic glands are enlarged, 

 inflamed, and covered with red spots. 



4. — Tkeatment. 



" The treatment of small-pox, in all parts and of whatever 

 kind, has hitherto been attended with results no less mortifying 

 than that which was adopted in cattle plague. Medicines, so 

 far as we at present know, throughout the world, have no power 

 of destroying the poison or cutting short its progress ; but while 

 animals are allowed to live they breed the poison, and other 

 animals serve to propagate and spread it farther and wider." 



5. — Sheep-pox in England. 



As already stated, the first I'ecorded outbreak of sheep-pox 

 occurred in 1847. It was extremely fatal, the deaths in several 

 instances ranging up as high as 75 per cent. It spread over a con- 



