216 
REPORT ON THE CATTLE PLAGUE. 
certificates of health. The importation also of cattle from 
England and Scotland into Sweden was prohibited in the 
same month. These precautionary measures on the part of 
Sweden were quickly followed by the promulgation of similar 
ones by the government of Norway, beings in each case evi- 
dently founded on the belief that contagion is the chief, if 
not the only cause of the spread of pleuro-pneumonia. 
Lubeck. 
From the circumstance that her Majesty’s Government, 
by “ the Order in Council” of April 2d, saw fit to prohibit 
the importation into England “ of cattle, horns, hoofs, raw 
or wet hides or skins of cattle, which shall come from, or 
shall have been at any place within the territories of the free 
city of Lubeck,” as well as other places named in the said 
order, it was to be expected that the so-called “ steppe mur- 
rain” (rinderpest) would be found to be prevailing among 
the cattle at Lubeck. We were informed, however, 
immediately on our arrival, that no such disease existed ; 
and ample opportunities were afforded us of subsequently 
confirming the correctness of this statement. Indeed, rin- 
derpest has never shown itself in the 'territory since 1813-15, 
when, by the movement of troops throughout Europe, it pre- 
vailed rather extensively here, as also in most countries of 
the continent. 
The precautionary measures which were taken in the 
spring of 1856, by the Senate of Lubeck, had especial refer- 
ence to pleuro-pneumonia , which disease had somewhat sud- 
denly made its appearance in the adjoining Duchies of 
Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Some 
doubt, however, was felt in this country as to whether the 
“ steppe-murrain” had not found its way thence from 
Prussia; and this was considerably added to by the official 
reports of Mr. J. A. Blackwell, who up to the beginning of 
the present year was British Vice-Consul at Liibeck. 
In two despatches dated respectively May 17th and 30th, 
1856, Mr. Blackwell informed her Majesty’s Government, 
through the Consul-General at Hamburg, that a contagious 
pulmonary disease or murrain had broken out among the 
cattle in Mecklenburg; and after giving the particulars of 
the precautionary measures adopted by the Lubeck authori- 
ties to prevent its entrance into their territories, he states 
that he had consulted several of the best German authors on 
the contagious maladies of cattle, and found that they made 
