PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 
819 
which was instituted in 1867 failed to elicit any proof of the 
importation of Dutch cattle into Cork at or about the time 
mentioned ; although, if the event really occurred, there 
should be no difficulty in obtaining a categorical account of 
the details of the transaction, the name of the importer, the 
number of the cows, and the place of their destination. None 
of these particulars are forthcoming, and the statement must, 
therefore, stand upon its own merits. It is admitted that 
lung disease existed among cattle in Holland at the time, and 
if by any means diseased cows were introduced into Ireland 
from that country in the year 1840, it is at least exceedingly 
probable that they communicated the disease to Irish cattle 
shortly after they were landed. To the agriculturist, how- 
ever, evidence upon the disputed point of origin is of little 
consequence; there is no doubt that the disease, like most 
other contagious diseases of animals, arose somewhere abroad, 
and that it prevailed extensively on the continent prior to its 
appearance in the British Isles. 
Pleuropneumonia once established in Cork, in the autumn 
of 1840, soon spread to other parts of the country, and in 
January, 1842, it was recognised in the metropolitan dairies. 
From London the disease continued its progress unchecked 
through Cheshire, Staffordshire, and Shropshire, and by the 
end of the year it was heard of all over England up to the 
borders of Scotland, which it entered in the Spring of 1843. 
The majority of the early outbreaks in different parts of 
England were traced to Irish cattle, and it is worthy of re- 
mark that, in a recent investigation respecting the prevalence 
of pleuropneumonia in Cheshire, the evidence all pointed to 
the same source of infection. The fact is not really difficult 
of explanation. Lung disease exists among cattle in Ireland 
to as great an extent as it does among cattle in England. 
Ireland is the great grazing district whence we obtain our 
supplies of store stock, and with those supplies the disease to 
which the animals are liable. If the position were reversed, 
and England became the exporting country, the results, in 
respect of transmission of disease, would be also reversed. 
In the colonies, particularly in Australia, lung disease has 
occasioned for many years the most serious losses. England 
has the credit of having sent the malady to Victoria with a 
valuable cow ; but, if the imputation is true, the disease must 
have remained latent in the animaks system during a long 
voyage, as it did not manifest itself until after she was landed 
and taken to Victoria. In 1854 the disease was discovered 
in Australia, and spread rapidly to the Goulbourn district, 
the Broken River, Ovens, and Upper Murray. The Colonial 
