REPORT ON THE CATTLE PLAGUE. 
689 
opinion Austria should appoint a commission of scientific 
men, and vest it with some of her absolute power, to conduct 
experiments and take every necessary means of determining 
the point in a conclusive manner, for the benefit of other 
countries as well as herself, and she w ill then both deserve 
and receive the thanks of the world. 
Spontaneous Origin . — The steppes of Russia are the home 
of the rinderpest, and here it may be said to hold almost 
undisputed sw 7 ay, little being done by the Imperial Govern- 
ment to stay its ravages. Here also, as has been elsewhere 
stated, it is alone regarded as having a spontaneous origin, 
but it is very probable that a scientific investigation would 
show that it spreads only from infection directly or indirectly 
communicated to the numerous herds of cattle w 7 hich inhabit 
these extensive plains. 
Doubtless every disease has had its place of origin, and in 
it there may exist persistent causes which keep alive, so to 
speak, the curse of sin. Such causes may possibly be found 
on these vast plains of Russia; and if so, here w 7 ould be the 
natural habitation of the pest. Be this as it may, it is cer- 
tain that in those countries wdiich are contiguous to the 
steppes the malady has no such origin, and its appearance 
in them is invariably associated with the recent intro- 
duction of steppe cattle, and generally in the ordinary course 
of traffic. 
No disease which we have ever studied appears to be 
governed by such precise laws as this, w T ith regard to the 
means of its extension ; and it is difficult to believe that it 
should spread by infection alone throughout Europe, and 
not be subject to the same law in the steppes. Supposing 
the fact, how r ever, to be as asserted, it is evident that pecu- 
liarity of breed is not one of the causes on w hich it depends. 
Large numbers of steppe cattle are met with out of Russia — 
and in Galicia we saw^ many w 7 hich w ere used for the pur- 
poses of husbandry — and these are never known to be the 
subjects of the pest, unless brought under the influence of 
the infection. Besides, the Hungarian, Italian, and steppe 
cattle are all, from their great similarity, evident descendants 
of the old Roman ox, and yet it w ould appear that in but one 
of these has rinderpest a spontaneous origin. Hungarian 
cattle are even said to be less susceptible to the disease than 
the other breeds met w r ith in the Austrian dominions, and to 
bear up better against it, so that the per-centage of deaths 
among them is much less than among others. 
Exertion has been assigned as the cause of the appearance 
of the malady, but, like breed, this too is powerless with all 
