482 History of Animal Plagues. 



much warmer than usual. In September an earthquake shook 

 Wales and its neighbourhood. In October there were great 

 thunderstorms in England. From March until January^ 1766, 

 epidemic influenza travelled across Europe. Animals were 

 affected before, during, or after man, and with analogous symp- 

 toms. In Britain this was especially noted. DrFothergill says : 

 'During this time horses and dogs were much affected, those 

 especially that were well kept. The horses had severe coughs, 

 were hot, forbore eating, and were long in recovering. Not 

 many of them died that I heard of, but several dogs.'^ Imme- 

 diately before it set in, Dr Gumming writes : ' After the middle 

 of August, I have heard from good authority, that a disease 



amongst horses prevailed very generally in Yorkshire 



About the latter end of October, I remember to have heard that 

 one gentleman had lost six dogs, in the usual manner that these 

 animals are seized — a giddiness in the head, an inability to eat, 

 with a paralytic affection of the hinder extremities.^^ 



Drs Glass and Pultney make similar observations; the 

 former asserts that in September many horses and dogs suffered, 

 and the latter that these were affected before mankind.^ 



In France, Lorry writes in a like manner: 'The year 1775 

 had begun with misfortunes for the poor. The scarcity of grain 

 had afflicted a large part of France ; and even in the capital the 

 use of rye-bread, until then unknown to the artizans, became an 

 article of daily consumption amongst the poorer classes. Dogs 

 and fowls had experienced an epizootic malady of a different 

 kind : that of the dogs was evidently an inflammation of the 

 pituitary membrane and a catarrhal angina ; that of the fowls 

 had some analogy with the gout ; they both appeared to be con- 

 tagious.'* In 1776, according to Huzard, epizootic catarrh in 

 horses succeeded the epidemic influenza of man in the spring.^ 



A remarkable mortality among the finny tribes appears to 



1 Dr Fothcrgill. Med. Observations and Inquiries, by a Society of Physicians 

 in London, 1764. 



'- Dr W. Cimwiing. Letter to Dr Fothergill, 1775. 



2 Annals of Influenza. Sydenliam Soc, p. 112. 



* Lorry. Mem. de la Societe Royale de .Medicine, vol. i. p. i. 

 5 Huzard. Journal de Medecine, vol. liv. p. y^^. 



