Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1865-10-26
The Cattle Plague of the Old World.

Auo SabllO w VI WIZ SAo "o11o
While the dreaded cholera is making its
way steadily and relentlessly from its Ori
entail home to the countries OF the West
another pestilence, apparently one OF the
plaques of Ancient Egypt, " the murrain OF
cattle" is preceding it, apparently.to "pre-
pare the way and make the paths straight" F"
A year ago it was in Egypt, and 100000
cattle perished from the herds of that coun.
try. Passing round the Mediterranean, il
made its way northward into Russia and
the countries on the Danube. Poland, Sile
sia, Gallicia, Hungary, Austria. Bohemia
and Moravia were visited and depopuated
of their cattle with astonishing rapidity.-
In the eagerness to avoid total loss the
owners of neat stock sold large number
of their animals to be transported to Ham
burgh, and thence to England
WHAT IS THE CATTLE PLAGUE?
The English dairymen name the new ep-
idemic the Russian murrain," because its
first appearance in Europe was noticed in
the autocrat's dOminions, and it was con-
veyed thence to Great Britain Like the
Russian plague, which so alarmed Western
Europe few months since, it is species
of typhus of very malignant character
One writer declares that it is the well
known RinderpeS of the continent" A
correspondent of the London Times, wri-
ting from Vienna under date of Aug 7th,
says that is called the Lungenseche or pull
monary disease, and discourses concerning
it as follows:
The first symptoms Of pneumonia pecO-
rom epizootica typhosa are dolefulness and
feebleness, with difficulty in breathing
The animals stand with their heads hang
ing down their ears pendulous, their eyes
fixed The inner skin of the nose is pale,
the liner part of the mouth Shiny the
body, horns, ears and legs are cool, the
skin is dry, and the hair rough and bristly.
The first stage Of the malady, during which
there is little or no fever, lasts from a fort
night to three weeks. The symptoms dur.
ring the second stage are feverish move
ments violent shiverings and exacerbation
towards the evening ; increased difficulty
III breathing, with dry, hollow, spasmodic
cough. In very many cases there is nc
cough during the first stage of the malady
The appetite is generally good, though the
animals ruminate but little. The cow gives
as much milk as usual, but it is thin and Of
blush color. AS the malady progresses
the animals get very weak and faint
sometimes the eXtremities are hot, some
times they are cold the hair on the back
and withers stands on end the eyes are
red and wide open, the neck and head are
stretched out, the execretions are partially
suppressed. The second stage, during
which there is still a chance that the ami
NAL may be saved, lasts four or five days
The third stage during which the fever as
sumes a putrid character need not be dc
scribed, as it invariably ends with death
HISTORY OF THE CATTLE PLAGUE
Such murrains have occurred over AM
over again in Europe, and an infectious dis
temper is supposed to prevail permanent,
among the vast herds which are pasturet
in Siberia and ON the steepes of Asia. |
depopulated the pasturages of the CONT
nent in the time of Theodosius it followe,
Charemagne back from Denmark, and mad
havoc of the French herds it scourgec
Europe in the years ST, in 1924, and agai
III 1925 The worst instances of all, how
ever, occurred from l7I0 to l7I7. On tina
occasion the steppe-murrain passed by wa
of Tartary, Russia, and Poland, all over tn
West and in the first three years l,500
900 oxen perished.
In l745 it prevailed in Zealand in III
Holland lost in one year 375,44l of he
horned cattle and in 1894 it followed Ma
poleon into Italy, and Piedmont alone pai
for his march with 3,5O0,00 head. Faust
in the FeuiVe du CultiUateltT, estimates tn
loss to France and Belgium, between Ill
and 1896, at the enormous total of 10000
900 animals In 1906 when the Cossack
of the Don mustered on the Vistula, thei
bullocks brought the pestilence again, an
Schwarzenberg's invasion of France, at tn
head of the allied forces, in 1913, importe
it. Wherever, indeed, war has broke
down the barriers of sanitary measures, tn
plague, if existing in the East, has force
its way and in the Crimean campaign
thus penetrated to the cattle pens of tn
French and English armies.
1t is related that in 1745 the same pest
lence crossed the sea in parcel of disten
pered hides from Zealand which were fol
hidden a sale there, and should have bee
buried but covetOus knave sold theI
for leather, and the plague struck the cat
tie and spread from Essex all over tn
kingdom On that occasion it ragged 70
twelve whole years, but not till the thir
year did the government take up the ma
ter so seriously as to order that every il
fected animal should be instantly dcstroye
and in this way alone $4,000 head wer
killed and paid for, while at least I6O 90
died of the malady
In l747, 10000 perished in Nottingham
shire and Leicestershire, and 10000 in Che
shire within six months. DeIafonde com
putes the loss Of stock by that visitation
in Europe at 3,000,0 600.
EXTENT OF THE PRESENT EPIDEMIC.
Last year this disease was raging at tb,
same time in Europe, at the Cape of Goot
Hope, Natal, New South Wales, Victori,
and South Australia In Victoria, where i