History of Animal Plagiics. 41 



disappearance of the waters, all the fields were found covered with 

 slime and mud, the grain was all destroyed, and myriads of ser- 

 pents and other creatures lay putrefying in the hot steaming 

 atmosphere. This is supposed to have given rise to the plague 

 which soon broke out in mankind and the lower animals/ 



A,D. 591. A plague of locusts invaded Italy. They were 

 supposed to have come from Africa. After eating up every 

 green herb or leaf, they were, as usual, blown into the sea, and 

 being washed on shore again, their putrefaction was the cause of 

 disease, which killed nearly a million of men and beasts. Man- 

 kind in Britain, Turenne, and the provinces of Arragon and 

 Vivares, suflt-red much from an epidemic named ingu'inaria, 

 marked chiefly by buboes. St Gregory gives us the following 

 account of an epizooty which appeared in France and Belgium. 

 ' In the second month of this year a great pestilence destroyed 

 the people and a fearful drought ensued, which no kind of 

 herb escaped ; from this arose a grievous plague amongst catties 

 and oxen, which increasing, left scarcely any to breed fromJ 

 Not only did this plague aflfect the domestic animals, — it also 

 attacked wild creatures. The remains of a multitude of stag's 

 and other beasts were found dead in the forests. Forage was 

 destroyed by the overflowing of the rivers and streams, and corn 

 there was none. Vines, however, were heavily laden, but acorns 

 did not attain their full development.^ ^ Wirth is of opinion that 

 the epizooty was one of anthrax or ' milzbrand.^ ^ 



A.D. 605-6. In these years there was excessively hot 

 weather with droughts, which gave rise to a famine, and conse- 

 quent plague in mankind and in cattle throughout Italy.* 



A.D. 661. ' After one year more, there was a great pestilence 

 among the birds, so that there was an intolerable stench by sea 

 and land,arising from the carcases of birds, both great and small. '^ 



A.D. 671. ' This year there was a great mortality among the 

 fowls {fuglaval)! ^ 



A.D. 684. 'A mortality (r/r-slaughtcr) upon all animals in 



' Baroniiis. Imper. I list. * St Gregoiy. Op. cit., vol. x. ]i. 30. 



' Wirth, Lehrbuch dcr Seuchen und Anstcckenden Krankheiten dcr Ilaus- 

 thicre. Ziirich, 1846, p. 85. ■* /uirouius. Op. cit. 



' The Chronicle of Kabius Etiiclwcrd. " Chronic. .Saxon. Edit. 6'//viw, p. 41. 



