will vary according to the physical condition of the patient, 

 or the creature in which it is manifested. 



This affection has been described under a variety of names, 

 by different authors, in accordance with some prominent 

 symptoms which they at various times observed, and thus 

 regarded as pathognomonic or characteristic of these 

 diseases. In New England the medical men, in short, call 

 it "spotted fever," while in the South it is known as the 

 "cold plague," in common parlance. It has also been de- 

 scribed as diptheria, putrid fever, paralysis, and blind staggers 

 by veterinarians. And on the other hand, no doubt that 

 both medical and veterinary men have confounded several 

 distinct affections under this new and popular name which 

 has only recently been introduced into medical literature. 

 Many have supposed, therefore, that this disease originated 

 in modern times, but such is not the case. It has un- 

 doubtedly existed from remote antiquity. Dr. Tourdes 

 believes that it was prevalent in Europe during the four- 

 teenth century. And were we able to fathom the mysteries 

 of the dark ages, we should undoubtedly find that it was 

 raging then and known as one of the plagues which deci- 

 mated the herds, and those nomadic tribes. Its geographical 

 distribution is very extensive; it is not confined to any 

 peculiar locality, nor to any one class of patients. The dis- 

 order seems to occur in a series of isolated eruptions rather 

 than by general spreading. Hence we are led to conclude 

 that it is not contagious, but that there is some special cause 

 in operation. Perhaps there may be a blood-poison of some 

 kind floating in the atmosphere, but what it really is we do 

 not know; and there are undoubtedly secondary causes 

 which thus co-operate in producing the disease. It usually 

 occurs in the spring and early summer, when the weather is 

 changeable, both in temperature and in the humidity of the 

 atmosphere. This would indicate the probability of some 

 septic change taking place in the blood, which is greatly 

 facilitated in its operation by a certain amount of heat and 

 moisture in the surrounding media. 



