466 History of Animal Plagues. 



In the month of June^ the Cattle Plague, which^ during the 

 preceding year, had entered Flanders and Picardy, broke out 

 rather suddenly in August amongst the bovine species in the 

 South of France, a short distance from Bayonne. It was uni- 

 versally believed to have been introduced in fresh hides that had 

 been imported from Zealand, in Holland, or from Artois, and 

 which were discharged at Bayonne. These were conveyed by 

 carriages to the place where the malady began, and which was 

 near some tanneries. Since the visitation of 1740, the southern 

 provinces — then, as now, containing numerous herds of cattle — 

 had been spared from its devastations. But now it obtained a 

 serious footing,'and from Bayonne, as from a centre, it extended; 

 and soon, meeting with the diverging circles from the other 

 centres, it occupied almost the whole of France from the south 

 to the north. The provinces in the west — La Vendee, Brittany, 

 and part of Normandy — alone escaped. In some of the southern 

 provinces, the number of cattle destroyed was so great, that after 

 the epizooty had disappeared, there were scarcely sufficient left with 

 which to cultivate the soil. The number that perished was estimat- 

 ed at 150,000, and their value at 152,000,000 francs. The disease 

 has been well described by the physicians Vicq-d'Azyr and 

 Doazan, by the veterinarian Bellerocq, and by others. To 

 notice the writings of all these would occupy too much space, 

 but to those interested in the subject, I subjoin the titles 

 of the various works; they will be found to contain much in- 

 formation and attentive research.^ In the mean time, it may 



^ Secondat. Memoire sur les Maladies Pestilentielles des Boeufs, 1775' 

 Observations sur I'etat actuel de I'Epizootie aux environs de Toulouse. Journal de 

 Physique, 1775. Consultation sur le Traitement qui convient aux Bestiaux 

 attaques de I'Epizootie. Journal de Physique. Grignon. Uistoire de la Maladie 

 Contagieuse qui s'est declar^e au Hameau de la Neuville en Champagne, 1776. 

 Bacherat. Dissertation sur la Maladie Epizootique du Betail, 1777. Memoires de 

 la Societe Royale de Medecine. Annee 1779. Panlet. Maladies Epizootiques, 

 vol. ii. p. 117. I have not thought it necessary to analyze all the reports which 

 were made on the disease in this part of France. The following are the principal : 

 Doazan. Memoire sur la Maladie Epizootique regnante. Bordeaux, 1774. Vicq- 

 d'Azyr. Observations pour Preserver les Animaux Sains de la Contagion, &c. 

 Bordeaux, 1774; and Recueil d' Observations. Paris, 1775. Also, Instructions sur 

 la Maniere de Desinfecter les Villages. Paris, 1775 ; and Expose des Moyens 

 Curatifs et Preservatifs qui peuvent etre employes contre les Maladies Pestilen- 

 tielles des Betes a Come. Paris, 1776. Bellerocq. Recherches sur la Maladie 



