1 66 History of Animal Plagues. 



A,D. 1693. ^^ earthquake, the shocks of which were per- 

 ceived in England, France, and Germany, but particularly in 

 Sicily; also an eruption of Mount Etna. An invasion of locusts 

 in Germany, proceeding from the east. Saxony more especially 

 suffered from their ravages. Epizootic catarrh among horses in 

 Europe, followed by epidemic catarrh in October.^ ' In Britain 

 and Ireland, October was a course of moderately warm weather 

 for the season; but some snow falling in the mountains and in 

 the country, it turned suddenly extremely cold, and there quickly 

 succeeded a hard frost for some few days at least. After this 

 followed such a general cough and cold, as not one out of thirty 

 escaped. ... It spent its fury in five weeks. It was three weeks 

 sooner in England than in Ireland. It not only affected these, 

 but the whole continent, though not all at the same time.' ^ ' In 

 October, an infiuenza began among horses, and then attacked 

 men, as usual.' ^ 



A.D. 1694. An eruption of Mount Vesuvius. A supposed 

 epidemy and epizooty of ergotism. Brunner writes : ' By what 

 unfortunate combination of circumstances, for so many years, 

 the whole of nature seemed to labour under an unhealthy atmo- 

 sphere, remains a secret. Many men, and those most learned, 

 have written on the state of the air, and I have been a spectator 

 of most grievous calamities ; for not only did unwonted fevers 

 attack and kill the human race, and would submit to no remedies, 

 but also the beasts were harassed by deadly diseases. I know 

 that sheep, cattle, pigs, horses, and geese were not free from the 

 contagion. There was also a lack of corn, not only on account 

 of the inordinate consumption of it by the soldiers, but also from 

 the character of the ground. Some of the corn was so plainly 

 diseased, that it was dangerous for man to eat of it. I know also 

 that peas, which formed a great part of the food of the army, 

 were infested and diseased by a small insect which made a minute 

 hole in them. I never remember seeing such an abundant crop 

 of darnel (or tares) mixed with the oats, and which prevented 

 the making of good oatmeal, our chief food, for it was needless to 



1 Webster. Op. cit., vol. i. p. 335. 



2 Short. Op. cit., vol. i. p. 395. Philosophical Transactions. 



3 T. Forster. Op. cit., p. 163. 



