History of Animal Plagues. 257 



taint from the distemper; and it was observable that some who 

 had been subject to a dry cough before this sickness, continued 



more free from it for some time afterwards The horses 



that chiefly escaped the distemper were those that had been kept 

 in constant strong exercise, or full-aged old horses, many of 

 which were no ways infected, though very much exposed to it.' ^ 



A.D. 1733. Famine and swarms of locusts in Germany. 

 ' The flights of locusts increased the general dearth by in- 

 vading various localities hitherto unvisited. In these places 

 they remained for some years. This was the case with the 

 Eastern locusts particularly, which in this year came from Tar- 

 tary and settled themselves in several provinces of Germany, 

 where they lingered until 1739.'^ 



A.D. 1734. Epidemic fever (scarlatina?) in England and 

 Scotland. In July Huxham says, ^Many birds died whilst 

 moulting.' For August he observes, ' Many song-birds have 

 perished, and cicadae are very seldom heard. The summer was 

 more overcast, colder, and lately more rainy than usual. Every 

 place was covered with water and mud.' ^ 



Short writes : ' In August a nephritic colic, or stoppage of 

 urine, was frequent among horses, of which they died in two 

 days, if not quickly bled and purged freely. A horse, when 

 near his end, ran his head against the wall or ground with his 

 greatest force, and thrust till he died.' * 



An epizooty amongst horses in England and Scotland, 

 which Heusinger thinks may have been scarlatina, or, at any 

 rate, an exanthematous fever; because Huxham, for this period, 

 describes an epidemy which has certainly much resemblance to 

 an affection of that kind. Short, however, does not mention 

 any particular disease as present in the human species for the year. 

 Gibson again affcirds us a description of the sympt(jms of this 

 equine disorder. ' About two years after this, in 1734, another 

 epidemical distemper happened in the spring, that proved more 

 fatal than this, though bv reason of its short continuance it was 



' IV. Gibsoji. A New Treatise on the Diseases of Horses. London, I7S4> 

 vol. i. p. 375. 



''■ Asso. Y del Rio von den Ileuschrecken. Rostock, 17S7, p. 7. 



^ Huxham. Op. cit., p. 96. * Short. Op. cil., vol. ii. p. 226, 



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