176 History of Animal Plagues. 



of animals by scientific teachings and demonstrations on the 

 continent, since the middle of the i8th century, it may easily be 

 inferred that a great re-action would take place, and that those 

 fearful scourges — fearful alike to the nations and to the animals 

 which they visited, would receive much elucidation as science 

 became more competent to observe and to speculate. 



And this has been the case. The task of noting their beffin- 

 ning, their progress, their various phases, and their nature, has 

 been removed from the domain of the oftentimes obscure general 

 observer of passing events, whose abilities were nearly in all cases 

 far from those of a scientific tendency, to a special domain 

 swarming with anxious investigators ; until, as we draw nearer 

 to our own day, the real difficulty the chronicler has to contend 

 with is the great number of authorities to be consulted, and the 

 immense amount of matter he must examine before he can 

 satisfy himself as to the best extracts for historical purposes. 



A.D. 1701. An eruption of Vesuvius. The winter long and 

 cold, followed by a dry and hot summer. In Suabia and in Ger- 

 many generally, an epizooty affecting cattle and other animals, 

 which carried off large numbers. It was said to be a dropsy of the 

 chest. ' At the commencement of spring the weather was cold, 

 and continued so until the end of April. From this time, how- 

 ever, the heat was intense, and the scant and light rains made 

 no impression on the parched state of the ground. No cold set 

 in until the end of September, when frost appeared. After the 

 slow germination, and contrary to all hope, the harvest and 

 vintage were good ; but the apples and pears fell from the trees 

 before their time, in consequence of disease from worm; nor 

 could they be preserved in any way, being too much destroyed. 

 The leaves of the beech-trees were covered with an extraordinary 

 quantity of gall-nuts, and cabbages were greatly damaged by 

 being eaten into by caterpillars. Somewhere in the neighbour- 

 hood (our own district of Tubingen being safe), dropsy in the 

 chest [hjdrops pectoris) carried off many cows, and there was a 

 great mortality among young geese in some places, so that they 

 were obliged to be buried, on account of the stench. The sum- 

 mer induced great relaxation of the bowels. Infants were first 

 attacked in the month of June, more in the month of July, in 



