ON THE EPIZOOTIC DISEASES OF CATTLE, &c. 139 
the slightest exposure to cold. The feet become affected, or, 
frequently, the feet and mouth are affected at the same time. 
There is, at an early period of the disease, considerable itching 
of the skin, and the animal is continually licking himself. 
On the 19th and 20th October, 1840, a cattle-fair was held 
at Yarm, a market-town on the east of the county. A drove of 
Irish cattle was brought for sale, but, having evidently the marks 
of disease among them, they remained unsold. A great num- 
ber of the cattle that had been at this fair contracted the dis- 
ease, which, no doubt, they caught from these Irish cattle. 
It was not, however, until after the great fair held at New- 
castle-upon-Tyne on the 29th October, 1840, that it could be 
said to present an epidemic appearance. This fair is the largest 
in the north of England. It is supplied with cattle from the 
surrounding counties, and great numbers of Scotch cattl6 are 
brought for sale. They have to travel great distances, and are 
exposed to the vicissitudes of the season. The night previous to 
the fair, they are brought within the suburbs of the town, and 
mixed with cattle from many different parts. The ground on 
which the fair is held is an elevated situation, exposed to the 
N. and N.E. wind. During the day, a considerable quantity of 
rain fell, and the wind was cold. It was evident that great 
numbers of cattle had contracted the disease. The unfavourable 
state of the day, and the fear of the epidemic too evident before 
the intending purchaser, caused a great quantity of cattle to 
be unsold. These, on their return home, and also those which 
had been purchased, very soon had the disease upon them. 
I should say, that this fair was the grand means by which the 
disease was propagated to this and the adjoining counties. 
Whether they contracted the disease by infection, or the wet 
and cold to which they were exposed rendered them liable to 
be acted upon by the epidemic influence, Mr. Farrow was unable 
to say ; but it was evident that almost every beast that had been 
at market sickened in a few days afterward. It was at this 
time confined entirely to cattle that had been at market ; but it 
soon began to appear along the public roads, and, next, upon 
farms adjoining those that had infected cattle. It continued 
to exist during the winter 1841, either more or less, throughout 
the county, occasionally breaking out on situations where no 
direct communication could be traced with infected cattle : and, 
as a fact, it should be stated that where it broke out, without be- 
ing traced to infection, it was almost invariably on situations 
high and exposed to the north-east cold winds. 
Towards the spring of 1841 it considerably subsided, or gra- 
dually died away. No sooner, however, had the movement 
