75 
Ordinary Meeting, January 27th, 1880. 
E. W. Binney, F.R.S., F.G.S., Vice-President, in the Chair. 
‘'On Epidemic Cycles,” by Arthur Ransome, M.A., 
M.D. 
It is somewhat remarkable that amongst the many obser- 
vations made by the older writers upon the subject of 
epidemic diseases, no note appears to have been taken of 
their recurrence in regular cycles of years. 
From the time of Hippocrates, and probably even before 
his epoch, much importance was ascribed to the rising and 
setting of certain stars, to the occurrence of comets, and 
even to eclipses of the sun and moon, and innumerable 
allusions are to be found to the influence of the seasons, 
and to variations in the atmospheric elements ; but most 
of these circumstances are noticed rather with the view of 
accounting for their irregular appearance than with the 
object of showing that they observe regular periods. 
The Karadraaig Xoi/xo)Sr)g of certain years is indeed pointed 
out, and the rise and fall of certain epidemics at the several 
seasons is marked with marvellous accuracy, but it does not 
appear that any one observed their tendency to recur after 
the lapse of a certain, often very deflnite, term of years. 
At first glance it appears strange that such an important 
phenomenon as this should have escaped the notice of such 
keen observers as many of the early physicians certainly 
were. 
We can hardly doubt that such diseases as small-pox, 
measles, scarlet fever, and wliooping-cough did actually 
appear in other countries with at least as much regularity 
as we shall presently find they did in Sweden. The plague 
also, if we may judge from the records given by Dr. Guy 
PiiocEEDiNGS — Lit. & Phil. Soc. — Vol. XIX. — No. 8, — Session 1879-80. 
