DISEASES AND THEIR REMEDIES. 107 



LETTER VIII. 



You desire to know if there is any remedy for 

 the distemper among dogs. I shall therefore 

 mention all the disorders which my hounds have 

 experienced, and point out the remedies which 

 have been of service to them. The distemper 

 you inquire about is, I believe, the most fatal 

 (the plague only excepted) that any animal is 

 subject to. It has not been long known in this 

 country, but it is almost inconceivable what 

 numbers it has destroyed in so short a period ; 

 several hundreds I can myself place to this mor- 

 tifying account. It seems happily to be now 

 on the decline ; at least, it is less frequent, and 

 more mild ; and I think it is probable that in 

 time it may be entirely removed. The effects of 

 it are too generally known to need any descrip- 

 tion of them here : I wish the remedies were 

 known as well ! 



A brother sportsman communicated to me a 

 remedy, which, he said, his hounds had found 

 great benefit from, viz. An ounce of Peruvian 



