DISEASES OF THE OX AND SHEEP. 303 



practice soon became rather general. Plumbe states that 

 " shortly after this, Caroline, Princess of Wales, one of whose 

 daughters had recently died and been much disfigured by small- 

 pox, was anxious to have the rest of her children inoculated. 

 Six condemned felons were pardoned by George the First on 

 consideration that they should submit to be inoculated. Five 

 of them contracted the disease favourably, the sixth being not 

 affected. A seventh escaped hanging by having a few small-pox 

 crusts thrust up her nose. Eleven children of the parish of 

 St. James's were also inoculated and did well, and, finally, the 

 Princesses Amelia and Caroline also favourably underwent the 

 operation. In eight years 845 persons had been inoculated, and 

 of these 17 died. 



In 1746, the Small-pox Hospital was established for the 

 reception of poor persons suflfering from the disease, and for the 

 gratuitous inoculation of people who had escaped it. However, 

 the deaths from small-pox, which for ten years (six prior to, and 

 four subsequent to, the founding of the hospital) had averaged 

 72| in every 1000, rose during the next ten years to 103, and in 

 the next to 111. 



The scourge of small-pox was by Jenner stripped of its malig- 

 nancy, and Death halted in the midst of his revellings. In June, 

 1798, Jenner being satisfied with the result of his experiments, 

 transmitted his MS. to a person in the confidence of Sir Joseph 

 Banks, with the request that it should be laid before him. He 

 received, in reply, an admonition that, as he had gained some 

 reputation by his former papers to the Royal Society, it was 

 advisable that this should not be presented, lest it should injure 

 his credit! However, the great discoverer sent to the press his 

 Inquiry into the Caufies and Effects of the Variola VaccincB, a 

 Disease Discovered in some of the Western Counties of England^ 

 particular Ij/ Gloticestershire, and known by the name of the 

 Cow-pox. Many were at once convinced of the truth of Jenner's 

 opinions. 



It is interesting to note that Jenner was led to his discovery 

 by the fact that milkers of vaccinious cows generally escaped 

 small-pox, owing, no doubt, to infection by vaccinia, as was 

 supposed to be the case by the dairymen in Gloucestershire. 

 We must also remark that inoculation with cow-pox before the 

 time of Jenner was never more than a matter of mere accident, 



