The Sun.
London, England, 1840-12-26 00:00:00

THE MURRAIN.

We regret to learn that there is no abatement of this
disease among cattle, It has now extended generally
over the south and midland counties of Scotland, and
has even travelled so far north as the highlands of Perth-
shire. It is nearly ten days since the disease developed
itself in the upper ward of Lanarkshire ; but both there
and almost every'Where else the disease has assumed
very mild type, and the deaths are not more fre-
quent than in the case of influenza in the human sub-
ject. We regret to observe that many persons have
abstained from the use of Eni:k and meat from a very
groundless terror of the murrain, and that from this
cause milk has laden front fourpence to threepence in
Edinburgh, even at this seantyseason. This is like ab-
staining from fruit and soup lii time of cholera, though
the event painfay proved that disease and death
came to him who abstained front fruit, as well as to
him who partook of it. But mere than this, diseased
(tand though the
1
England
sh;ce the month of
ed
March last, we never heard of a hutr.an being who was
(.;itsr.t I:s
e d o
has not
ve irn any
quantity,
either afilliculd with the symptoms, or suffered death;
from the murrain. We "Pe, therefore, that this milk
and butter squeamishness will cease and determine. At
all events, it is.sat:sfactory to know that the Inspector of
Markets is at this time doubly attentive as to the purity
of the butcher meat offered for sale in the City. In the
llope that this information may be useful, we subjoin an
ientir(,3rtlaie
received
by
3 a gentleman in town,
there-
i disease in the district of
slPxleturcitidinaton ;—" Your son tells me you are desirous of
information regarding our modeof treatment of the epide-
mic
tpuephreexvpaeleriiietnacmeeiengtiedastntllea.tt.lekrs, hvai
ivi ui
ynefoyrot
uu nt tee Iy. to
resulto
of my observations. The disease shows itself at first in a
dullness in the eye, a stiffness over the whole body, and a
want of appetite. In some cases the mouth and tongue
with small pustules, a great
fib bow ecame soresaliva
a and blistered, sbteorted,
h nose amtm mouth, and the pre-
vailing symptoms are great stiffness and soreness in
tae limbs. In all cases there seems an utter rostra-
:ion of strength and spirit. I have remarked that those
eases whore the soreness of mouth is the chief coin-
are more tedious in the cure than when the
disease is confined to the limbs. In the milder cases I
have abstained altogether from medicine ; the animals
have been kept dry and warm, and I have had oatmeal
gruel, in
which linseed oil-cake is dissolved, freely
l';'ven them ; and when they would not drink it of their
own accord, it has been administered to them twice or
thrice
4.-OY. In more severe cases I have followed
this recipe:— lb. Epsom salts, a lb. sulphur, oz.
powdered ginger, 1
twill linseed oil. The above,
given in two quarts of oatmeal gruel, has generally
indeed I "nay say always,
acted beneficially. When the
disease first made its appearance among my cattle, I
administered lib. of Epsom salts without sulphur, but I
think the other recipe the better mode of treatment..
When the mouth is very sore it is expedient to wash it
with a sponge dipped in a solution of alum and water
twice or thrice in a day. In no case have I had re-
course to blood-letting : I have had upwards of 30 cat-
tle affected, but the whole seem to be in a fair way of
recovery. Those first attacked are quite well again. I
have still about a dozen that have not had the com-
plaint, but with every probability of their being attacked.
Indeed, I observed the
incipient symptoms in some of
them to-day. Upon whole, the disease, though distress-
ing to behold, and
hurtful to the condition of the animal,
is in few cases fatal. I apprehend the fatal cases have
been increased rather by too much medical treatment
than too little. Greater injury is often done by fretting
and teasing the animal in administering medicine, than
good by its effects in removing the disorder."—G/as-
go ut Courier.

::eocwkin i°linc the
ehd arriages is about
had
STATISTICS WORTH KNOWING.—III Great
m
Britain the number of individuals in a state to bear arms,
f
,agtehaotf li6n to
63 of these unions there were only
60, is 2,744,847. The number of
and it has been
r
The number of deaths is about
332,700 yearly, winch makes nearly 25,592 monthly,
6,398 weekly, 914
daily, and 40 hourly. The deaths
among the women are, in
proportion to the men, as
50 to 54. The married women live longer than those
who continue in celibacy. In the country!, the mean
term of the namber of children produced by each mar-
riage is four; in towns the proportion is 811VCI1 for
every two marriages. The number of marries women
is to the general number of individuals of the sex, as 1 to
3 ; and the number of married men to that of all the in-
d,viduals of the male sex, as 3to 5. The number of wi-
(lows is to that of widowers, as 3 to 1; but the number of
widows who marry again is to that of widowers in the
tame case, as 7to 4. The individuals who inhabit ele-
vateelcvated places. The half of the individuals die before
live longer than those who reside in less
is to that of ordinary births, as 1 to 65. According to
cat:dacini
ud s
lantigitountahst,ieoangs'eofseventeen years. The number of twins
founded upon the bills of mortality, ono indi-
vidual only in 3,126 attains the age of 100 years. The
min-iber of births of the male sex 13 to 01;11: of the female
sex, as 96 to 95. —Edinburgh Philosophical Journal.