34^ History of Animal Plagues. 



no means of judging ? or who shall be qualified to certify sufficient 

 matter of evidence to them, when everybody around them are equally 

 in the dark with themselves as to those principles which furnish such 

 means ? This seems to be a difficulty in the due execution of the 

 Orders of Council for destroying the suspected cattle, and laying restric- 

 tions on the removal of those probably exposed to the contagion, which 

 renders their operation extremely uncertain, and may cause great in- 

 conveniences from conscientious and zealous attempts to enforce them 

 where the facts on which the right determination of measures wholly 

 depends are so easily to be mistaken. The method to remove this dif- 

 ficulty is suggested by the very nature of the subject itself It is ob- 

 viously the providing the proper means of information of the character- 

 istic signs of this disease, and circulating the intelhgence of them as 

 generally as of the Orders of Council themselves, in the doing which the 

 following manner seems most easy and efl:ectual according to the pre- 

 sent state of thing's : — 



' A brief account of the most discernible and peculiar symptoms of 

 the disease and of the appearances in the inward parts of the beasts 

 which die of it should be procured. This account should be drawn up 

 in the most clear and simple manner, and expressed in the most clear 

 and simple language, divested of all terms of art, and accommodated to 

 persons of ordinary capacity. It should then be transmitted to every 

 parish, and disposed of there in such manner that all the inhabitants 

 may be apprized of, and have easy means of recourse to it whenever 

 they may have occasion, and more particularly those who are officially 

 concerned in the execution of the Orders of Council. In order to do 

 this most conveniently, it may be proper to follow in some measure the 

 same method which is taken to promulgate the late Act of Parliament 

 and the Orders of Council. It is ordained by that Act, a printed copy 

 of the same, together with any Orders of Council made in pursuance of 

 it, shall be provided by the churchwardens, &c., of every parish with 

 intent that they may be read by the minister the next Sunday after the 

 receipt of them, and afterwards on one such Sunday in every calendar 

 month as he shall think proper j and also tliat they may be kept by 

 him in order to his permitting every person residing in his parish to 

 read the same during the time tlie respective Orders of Council may be 

 in force. Now it would be expedient to join a printed copy of the ac- 

 count of the signs of the disease with those of the Act of Parliament 

 and Orders of Council, that it may be always ready to be consulted 

 along with them, or separately, by all persons who may have any need 

 of such information. 



'It would likewise be very expedient, in order to the rendering 



