74 History of Animal Plagues. 



so acrcrravated bv the excessive heat of the summer that fears were 

 entertained it would rival the Athenian plague itself.^ 



In Frissino-en there was such a plague of mice, that corn, 

 hay, and all vegetation was eaten up.^ 



A.D. 1 251. A most intolerably hot summer. Famine in 

 Italy and epidemic disease in England. 



'Thunder and lightning came in the summer of this year, 

 which killed many men and cattle in Ireland.'^ 



A.D. 1352. Great epizooty of anthrax fever in England. 

 'The summer was very hot and dry throughout England, and 

 from Easter to autumn no rain fell, neither did dew in any way 

 supply the deficiencv, so that the surface of the ground was 

 never even moist, whence it happened that grass scarcely grew 

 at all, and by reason of this a severe famine ensued, and a great 

 mortality among men and cattle.' * ' In the same year, for the 

 greatest part of March, and the whole of the months of April 

 and May, a burning sun prevailed, and northerly winds continued. 

 The dryness of the weather continued and the dews ceased, 

 so that apples and other fruits, which were now beginning to 

 ripen, withered and fell from the trees, and there was scarcely 

 any fruit, although the spring blossoms gave great promise. Of 

 what remained an unseasonable morning hoar frost, which philo- 

 sophers call uredo, blighted the young apples, and all kinds of 

 fruit and herbs, so that scarcely a tenth part remained. Never- 

 theless, through the original abundance, had all the apples ar- 

 rived at maturity, the trees could not have supported them. 

 When the sun had attained its meridian, it was so intensely hot 

 and intolerable, that the surface of the ground was thoroughly 

 parched, so that all the grass being burnt up, food was denied 

 to cattle and sheep. At night the excessive heat produced flies 

 and other hurtful parasites, by which the life of all animals was 

 rendered wearisome. This is from ocular testimony 



' In the course of the same year, after the excessive heat of 

 the summer, and at the approach of autumn, a plague-like mor- 

 tality broke out amongst the cattle in many places in England, 



' Ubbon. Emmii Rer. Fries. Hist. 15 16. 



- Chronic. Magdeburg. 3 Annals of Connaught. 



* Thomas Wilkes. A Chronicle of English Affairs. 



