History of Animal Plagues. 431 



course of the last year, 9800 cattle died in the province of 

 Friesland. In South Holland, since the ist of April, 1769, 

 until the last month of the year, 115,665 head of cattle are 

 dead, and 40,454 have been cured. During the month of April, 

 669 have died, and 221 have been cured. In June followino; 309 

 deaths, and 6"] cures have been reported. In West Holland, 

 since the 1st of April, 1769, until the last month of the year, 

 43'5^3 cJied, and 21,237 were cured. The number of those which 

 perished in April is ^^^, and those cured 231 ; in May 443 died 

 and 90 are cured; in June 160 deaths took place, and 423 were 

 cured. The total shows that 162,276 cattle died, and (>1,^^^ 

 were cured.' ^ Dossie's statements, already furnished (page 354), 

 refer to this period. 



Vicq d'Azyr, alluding to the prevention of this terrible disease, 

 makes a reference to the state of Holland — a reference quite as ap- 

 plicable to that country in 1865 and 1866. He says : ' In these 

 epizootics, we may resort to the most vigorous means, without 

 doing any injury to the duties and the qualities of a good adminis- 

 tration. We fail when we do not employ them. i. When we 

 have discovered a specific treatment, it is impossible to cause it to 

 be universally adopted over the country. 2. In a great number of 

 districts it is exceedingly difficult to induce the farmers to separ- 

 ate the healthy from the diseased. 3. If the communication 

 between the cattle cannot be prevented, we cannot expect to 

 keep away men, dogs, and other animals; their coverings neces- 

 sarily escape the vigilance of the administration. 4. The sale of 

 cattle, which is always eflfected in a clandestine manner, is also an- 

 other means of communication. 5. The slaughter [assomme- 

 ment) of diseased cattle does not always succeed, because it is 

 necessary to wait before all the animals on a farm are attacked 

 before we can kill them ; this requires a very long time — a circum- 

 stance which propagates the contagion and very much increases 

 the expenses. 6. It is well known that as soon as the contagion 

 reaches a farm, all the cattle are successively attacked, and that 

 scarcely one escapes. It is evident that once the law of killing 

 all the animals is brought into operation, it docs not much 



' Cured here means recovered. 



