The Sun.
London, England, 1865-12-01 00:00:00

The Cattle Plague.

There can no longer be a doubt about the for-
midable growth of the cattle plague during the pre-
sent month. During that brief period it has been
so rapidly and fatally disseminated that the pro-
spect has become very different from what it was a
few weeks ago. When the Commissioners issued
their report at the end of October it was obvious to
argue as it was argued, that the ravages of the
plague, as then ascertained, constituted, upon the
whole, a slighter infliction than would be created
by the suspension of all the cattle traffic of the
country. In the four months comprised between
the first outbreak of the disease and the report of
the Commissioners, the total number of cases barely
exceeded 14,000, while the deaths from plague and
pole axe together were only about 12,000. This
gave a mortality of only 700 a week upon an
aggregate stock of horned cattle estimated at
7,000,000, and it was asked acccordingly whether
such a loss would justify the application of such a
remedy as was proposed. The question arose fairly
enough out of the facts as they then appeared,
and as hopes were entertained that we had seen
the worst of the plague, at any rate for the season,
the sweeping measures of precaution proposed by
the Commissioners found no great favour. But the
aspect of things has been seriously changed by the
returns of the month now expiring. These four
weeks have already doubled the losses of the pre-
ceding four months. The attacks have arisen from
14,000 to upwards of 27,000, and the deaths, de-
struction included, to upwards of 21,000. Between
the 4th and 11th of the month the number of cases
increased by 50 per cent. In the ensuing week
things were not quite so bad, but there was a further
increase still. At present it may be a ssum ed that
the deaths, instead of 700 a week, are at least four
times that number ; and if winter does not tell in
our favour, the losses may be 5,000 or 6,000 a week
before Christmas.—Times.

About five weeks ago two of the sheep which had
been kept about three 'A eeks in the Edinburgh Sana-
torium in immediate contact with diseased cattle,
but without taking the infection, were handed over
to Dr. Smart for further experiment. The sheep
were placed in a stall in which two cows had just
died from the most virulent types of the disease,
and they were also allowed to go about the cow-
house, in which several diseased animals were under
treatment. Both the sheep remained perfectly well
until about a fortnight ago, when one of them be-
, came sickly. The animal, from showing loss of
appetite, went through allthe usual stages of rinder-
pest, though in a modified form. On the eighth
day it showed the first signs of recovery, and has
since made continuous advance in convalescence.
The other sheep has continued quite well during the
whole period. The result of the experiment would
seem to support the opinion, that while the sheep do
not enjoy an absolute immunity from the disease, they
are liable to its attacks in a much less dangerous
form. In the present case the attack was a mild
one, even after the sheep were subjected to contagion
for a protracted period. In Dr. Smart's opinion
the disease is not likely to assume an epizootic cha-
racter among sheep, although during its prevalence
among cattle, a few isolated cases may occur among
sheep. We are informed that Dr. Smart continues
his experiments in the treatment of cattle suffering
from rinderpest, and with encourging results. He
estimates the proportion of recoveries among the
animals treated at about 70 per cent.

A frightful attack of neuralgia in the face and
mouth cured by a few doses of MortisoN's PILLS, the vege-
table universal medicine of the British College of Ileal.h,
Euston-road, London, after other means had failed. Sold
by the by6tian agents and all medicine venders.