History of Animal Plagues. 239 



rust were very abundant on the crops and forage, and this has 

 been regarded as the cause of the ffreat mortahty amonsxst cattle 



o eye 



which was observed during the summer, especially in June and 

 July, in Poland, Silesia, and Saxony. Indeed, the whole of Ger- 

 many seems to have been ravaged by this disease, which, from 

 the accounts of various authors, was carbuncular fever. Not 

 only did cattle suffer, but the deer tribe also died in numbers, and 

 fish perished in the ponds and lakes.^ 



In Silesia and Lusatia, complaints continued to be made of 

 madness in dogs." Sheep small-pox very destructive in Eichsfeld 

 and Thuringia.'' Wirth says : ' In the winter of 1726-27, epi- 

 zootic pleuro-pneumonia (bovine) spread everywhere in Switzer- 

 land, and to the neighbouring countries/* An epizocity amongst 

 fowls in Courland. The description Is imperfect. 'An unfore- 

 seen epizooty broke out amongst fowls, so that they wasted away 

 in flesh, would not eat, and when their feathers were parted, their 

 bodies were found to be covered with lice. At last an uncom- 

 mon crrowth or carcinoma appeared between the legs near the 

 anus In this manner a vast number of fowls dicd.^ 



A. D. 1727-28. Ruttywrites : ' In November, in Staffordshire 

 and Shropshire, their horses were suddenly seized with cough 

 and weakness, disabling them from labour.' 'The spring vari- 

 able; summer variable, inclined to fair and dry; autumn wet; 

 winter mild and open. In December, both in Dublin and the 

 remote parts of the kingdom, the horses were seized with a 

 cough and shortness of breath, and sometimes sore-throat; 

 some bled at the nose. A large discharge of thick phlegm 

 from the nose, long continuing, was salutiferous. Some died 

 in the streets, partly through the carelessness of their masters 

 exercising them abroad, even during this disorder, partly through 

 neglect of bleeding and purging, and partly from improper medi- 

 cines. December 25th. The horses growing better ; coughing 

 and sore-throat seized mankind in Dublin.'" 



A.D. 1729. From 1727 till this year, the weather was remark- 



' Brcslauer Sammlung, vol. xxxvi. p. 690 ; xxxvii. p. 54. 

 2 Ibid. vol. XXXV. pp. 56,«I77, 325. •' Ibid. vol. xxxvii. p. 57. 



* IVirih. Op. cit., p. 298. * Brcslauer Samml, vol. xxxvi. p. 556. 



9 Rutty. Op. cit. 



