718 
THE ORIGIN OF VACCINATION. 
A Communication from Mr. G. Jesty, Crookham, near 
Farnham. 
The serious disease of smallpox in sheep at this season of 
the year, when rams are being put to the ewes throughout the 
kingdom, is much to be deplored; for, should the malady con¬ 
tinue, I fear the ewes may not prove pregnant, or if so, that 
alarming results will ensue during the lambing season. 
It is a satisfaction to know that you are rendering your prac¬ 
tical services with the most beneficial effects, by means of 
inoculation, the good results of which we have a notable 
instance of in Mr. Parry^s flock. 
I must beg to observe that I perfectly concur with your 
opinion on this subject; and, although Professor Gamgee enter¬ 
tains a different opinion, yet he does not give any satisfactory 
reasons for forming such on this particular point. 
I enclose you a copy of a document on the subject of vacci¬ 
nation, which, perhaps, you will feel interested in perusing, 
especially now that you are adopting inoculation amongst sheep 
with such great success. 
The facts contained in this paper are beyond dispute, and 
if my ancestor had had them advocated at the same time that 
Dr. Jenner’s case came before the public, he (Dr. Jenner) 
would probably not have received a grant from Parliament, 
nor would a statue have been erected to his memory. Be 
this, however, as it may, my ancestor was the first discoverer, 
as Jenner’s dates are 1776 and 1777. 
To Professor Simonds. 
(Copy.) 
Mr. Benjamin Jesty, farmer, of Downshay, in the Isle of 
Purbeck, having, agreeable to an invitation from the medical 
establishment of the original Vaccine Pock Institution, Broad 
Street, Golden Square, visited London in August, 1805, to 
communicate certain facts relating to the cowpock inocula¬ 
tion, we think it a matter of justice to himself and beneficial 
to the public to attest that, among other facts, he has 
afforded decisive evidence of his having vaccinated his wife 
and two sons, Robert and Benjamin, in the 1774, who were 
