Small-Pox in Sheep. 
553 
duced into so remote a part of England as Wiltshire. It must be 
borne in mind that just previously to, and also after, the appearance 
of the disease in this eoimty the malady was existing in Hanover and 
parts of the duchy of Lauenberg, where these and other States 
unite. At that time wo were drawing our chief supplies of foreign 
sheep from theso districts, shipping them at Hamburg, and Tonning, 
as the chief ports of Slcsvig, Holstcin, &c. There can, therefore, be 
no doubt that wc wcro importing sheep from a district that was 
to a considerable extent infected ; and wc may presume that some 
animals in whose systems the disease was incubated were thus intro- 
duced into England. The sanitary police regulations in those countries 
with regard to the exportation of diseased cattle would, no doubt, 
prevent any great number from coming here ; still with an affection like 
this, which no man can recognise while dormant in the system, we can 
well tmderstand that a few sheep may have passed the police regu- 
lations and found their way into England. With this we must couple 
another well-established fact, namely, that butchers have now for 
some years past been in the habit to a very large extent of making 
their purchases in the metropolitan market for the supply of various 
parts of England. Instead of drawing their supplies, say for 
Birmingham, from the surrounding ncighbom-hood, they purchase 
oxen and sheep in the London market, put them into railway trucks, 
and send them down to Birmingham to be slaughtered. And this is the 
case with almost all the large towns, even as far down as Manchester. 
The camp at Aldershot, too, is supplied almost entirely in this way. 
Again, wc find with regard to some of our seaports, such as Brighton 
and Dover, where soldiers and sailors are congregated in large numbers, 
that to these places also cattle and sheep arc sent every market 
day from the metropolis. These facts lead me to think it not impro- 
bable that some diseased sheep were purchased in the metropolitan 
market, and found their way westward. Where they went to few 
know, and I dare say that those who could throw a light upon the 
subject woidd hardly be disposed to do so. Unless we have, so to 
speak, their confession, we shall, however, never bo able to arrive at 
all the facts of the case. But I will further prcsimic that the 
period of incubation had passed in these sheep, by, or nearly at, 
the time when they had arrived at their destination in the West. 
The person who had pm'chased them, seeing an eruption of a pecu- 
liar kind break out all over their bodies, would be convinced 'at 
once that the animals were of no use for human food, and that 
ho must by some means get rid of them. For when the disease 
shows itself, there is not only this remarkable eruption on the body, 
but also great constitutional disturbance. The animal sickens, it 
holds its head down, its cars arc lopped, it refuses all food, it is 
the subject of intense fever and suffering ; and, supposing that 
nothing is done, it drags out a miserable existence up to the time 
of its death. I believe that something of this kind must have 
shown itself. The man wotild then say, " These sheep are of no 
use to me to dispose of as food ; I must get rid of them some- 
how ;" and accordingly he did get rid of them by sending them 
