Histojy of A nil) ml Plagues. 475 



the excrements were liquid, and sometimes mixed with blood, 

 and had an insujijiortable odour; subcutaneous emphysema 

 appeared, and tremblings, shiverings, coldness of the horns, ears, 

 &c., preceded death. 



M. Faur, of Beaufort, observed that the tongue, the palate, 

 and the whole cavity of the mouth, appeared white, from a pecu- 

 liar secretion, and that these parts, as well as the nostrils, were 

 often covered with pustules [boutons ) and ulcers j the urine was 

 scantier and deeper-coloured than in health. 



M. Prat, of Montauban, having followed up the symptoms, 

 day by dav, in an ox which he cured, gives a most interesting and 

 detailed description of them. This ox, aged six years, strong, 

 vigorous, and in good condition, after having worked and fed as 

 usual on the 13th of December, was found at four o\-lock on the 

 morning of the 14th away from its manger, carrying its head low, 

 and tremblino;. This shiverins: lasted till four o'clock in the 

 afternoon ; then the ears, horns, and the rest of the body became 

 hot ; the pulsations of the carotid arteries were very strong, and 

 the spine became so sensitive that the slightest touch made the 

 animal crouch. The white of the eyes was inflamed, and the 

 whole extent of the neck erysipelatous. It refused food and 

 water, and seemed much distressed. The blood abstracted at 

 eight o'clock in the evening was very thick, and did not yield 

 any serum. Near the umbilicus a tumour appeared, about 

 the size of a finger, which being deeply incised yielded a 

 quantity of black, sanious, and stinking fluid. On the 15th of 

 December, the second day of the malady, it had a long and vio- 

 lent exacerbation of all the symptoms, accompanied by con- 

 vulsions; on the 1 6th the fever had abated, and it passed a quiet 

 ni"-ht; on the 17th, the fourth day, the convulsive movements 

 had disappeared, and the dejections were very fetid ; on the i8th 

 and 19th they were the same. By the 20th the fever had disap- 

 peared ; on the 22nd the ears and horns were cool, and the 

 animal had recovered. The authors of this period had rcniarked 

 that the symptoms usually enumerated were not all to be seen 

 in the same animal. The most constant were the extreme sensi- 

 bility at the beginning of the disease, the dulness, weakness, and 

 absence of rumination; the alternations of heat and cold, similar 



