388 History of Animal Plagues. 



mer wet, except some days in June. ' The bad weather in July 

 and August was common to us and England and Germany.'^ 

 Autumn variable; winter open and foggy, 



A.D. 1752. In Ireland, ' spring cold and dry, except a moist 

 May. Summer extremely wet, the herbs were remarkably larger 

 than usual, from the excessive moisture of the season. Several 

 of the grains were lean and poor, but the potatoes were good. 

 A rot appeared among the sheep at the latter end of the season, 

 and became general in the low and moist lands through most 

 parts of the kingdom.^ ^ 



A.D. 1753. In Ireland the weather had been very wet, and 

 caused great destruction of sheep throughout the island. 



A.D. 1754. In this year glossanthrax, or a form of gangren- 

 ous sore-throat, presented itself as an epizooty among animals 

 in Hanover. 'In the year 1754, during the winter, the sheep 

 and swine, and also the geese and ducks, were attacked by dis- 

 ease and died. Their flesh was found black and loosened from 

 the bones. The intensity of the cold, which only lasted for two 

 days, was, by some people, blamed for this ; others, however, 

 blame the grass of the previous year, which the geese ate equally 

 with the cows, and the latter died in great numbers at that time. 

 The ducks certainly ate little grass, and perhaps in their case the 

 cold was the immediate cause.' ^ In Manilla, there was a severe 

 eruption of the volcano of Taal, accompanied by an earthquake, 

 which inflicted an immense amount of damao;e. The whole 

 country was enveloped in darkness, and there fell alternately 

 quantities of water and showers of calcined matter, which de- 

 stroyed plants and trees. Animals suffered greatly, and it was 

 reported that the monkeys which were not destroyed took 

 refuge in the villages.* 



A.D. 1755- Earthquakes in various parts of the world. In 

 Peru, the city of Quito was destroyed in April. In May, the 

 islands of Mitylene and Madeira were much damaged, and in 

 November the great earthquake at Lisbon took place, the 



■> Rutty. Op. cit. 2 iijjjj 



' Hannov. Gen. Anzeig., 1754, also /^r'jc/^^r. Lieflandisches Landwirthschafts- 

 buch, p. 625. 



* Haussniatm. Voyage en Chine, &c., vol. ii. p. 251. 



