History of Animal Plagues. 305 



tion, that in Denmark, - where the contagious distemper is 

 become naturahzed and general, the Danish Government have 

 not only wisely adopted the orders and regulations issued in 

 Great Britain, but have with unwearied application pursued the 

 practice of inoculation. Count BernsdorfFand Dr Struensee had 

 all the necessary instructions, books, and papers, delivered to 

 them by me, when the King of Denmark was in England ; and 

 I am assured by Daniel Delavul, Esq., lately his Majesty's 

 Envoy Extraordinary at that court, that inoculation is approved, 

 recommended, and by authority established. Even in the first 

 three years that inoculation was practised, of near 300 head of 

 cattle which were inoculated in a Danish island, not a sixth part 

 were lost, notwithstanding the many disadvantages which un- 

 avoidably occurred. Professor Camper had before attempted to 

 introduce inoculation in Holland, but the learned professor's 

 abilities, diligence, and perseverance were so much counteracted 

 by the obstinacy and interruption of the peasants, the badness of 

 the situation, and inclemency of the weather, that out of ii3 

 only 41 recovered, and yet that number is fully sufficient to 

 prove his opinion of the disease, and of the use of inoculation. 

 Application was made in 1770 to the Lord President of the 

 Council by a famous inoculator, for leave to take matter from 

 the infected beasts in Hampshire, and to inoculate the cattle in 

 the southern and western counties of England : on a represent- 

 ation to his lordship that by such an operation the contagion 

 would not only be introduced in those counties where it had not 

 yet appeared, but also might spread the sickness so as to become 

 general all over the kingdom as before, a positive and strict in- 

 junction was given to drop the intention, especially as by killing 

 the cattle there was no doubt of extirpating the contagion out 

 of Hampshire. The inoculator, therefore, made no attempt. 

 According to the several prejudices of different countries, various 

 opinions have arisen of the nature of this sickness. Such as.are 

 averse to inoculation have obstinately refused to acknowledge it 

 was similar to the small-pox in the human body, and have very 

 idly asserted that the only intention of declaring the contagion 

 to be a sort of small-pox was purposely and with no other view 



than to promote inoculation for the small-pox. 



20 



