268 
SMALL POX IN PIGS. 
Had there been any diseased sheep any where near us, I should 
have been inclined to believe they had caught it; but the nearest 
sheep to us that had suffered from variola were then perfectly well, 
and had been so a long while ; and they were, at least, seven miles 
off in a direct line (viz. at Mr. John Gurney’s, at Northolt), nor 
had there been the least communication from any one of the 
places to either of the others. Had there been any intercourse, I 
could have believed the disease to have remained in the system 
of the pig quite as long as in the sheep. Two friends of mine, 
Messrs. White, of the Isle of Thanet, tell me they have a very 
good proof of the time the disease may remain in the sheep ; for 
in the evening they turned out the first two tegs they discovered 
ailing, from one of their flocks into an orchard, where two ewes 
were lying with their lambs, and the next morning, on finding an 
eruption on those drafted, took the ewes away, and turned them 
and their lambs among twenty other ewes with their lambs. From 
the time they were turned out until they broke out with the disease 
(variola) was more than seven weeks, and they were the first of 
the ewes that had the disease, and they both died ; but their lambs 
escaped it. And though they have lost several others of their 
ewes, all the lambs that were sucking escaped the disease. 
Mrs. Rogers’ pigs had very little appetite, but would drink 
freely. 1 gave them some fever medicine, and ordered them to 
have light food and plenty of clean cold water, so placed that they 
could get at it when they liked. When I next saw them I found 
two with their heads and their legs swollen, and the legs very 
painful at the joints, on being very lightly squeezed in the hand. 
On the third day afterwards they broke out with variola, the first 
symptoms of eruption shewing themselves inside the thighs, on the 
belly, and under the throat, and thence gradually spreading over 
the whole body ; they being very easily felt on the dark part of 
the skin, in places where they could not so readily be seen. They 
gradually increased in size, and formed a vesicle on the top. 
I remain, Sir, 
Your most obedient humble servant. 
To the Editor of The Veterinarian. 
