The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1883-02-24

life. The wild creatures suffered.with the
tame The cattle plague, distinctly so de-
scribed, ragged over Europe. The epizootic
plcuro pneumonia of cattle was present in
several cantons of Switzerland and Swabia
in this and the following year. The sea-
sons again fell out of order in 1925. The
summer was exceedingly wet and damp,
and the following winter cold and long. 1t
was year of blight, the like Of which had
never been heard of in England. The
next year was exceedingly dry and hot
Honey-dew and rust were very abundant in
the crops and forage, and this was regarded
as the cause of the great mortality among
cattle. The deer persisted in numbers, and
even the fish. The pleuro-pneumonia
(bovine) spread everywhere in Switzerland
and in neighboring countries.
In 1873 contagious pleuro pneumonia,
now thoroughly ascertained and distin-
guished from other cattle plaques, showed
istelf in Upper Silesia and Istria, holding
its ground for many years, and spreading
to Bavaria, where it continued to reappear
far into this century. The wars OF the
French Revolution drew large quantities
of cattle from the neighboring countries
and the result was the prevalence of this
epizooty in Dauphine, the Vosges, and
Piedmont, and up to Paris itself, that city
becoming in its turn the centre Of conta-
gion following the track of the Revolution
ary armies. From this time for quarter
of century there was seen all over the
continent that sequence of pest upon war
noticed by the historian Of the Peloponne-
sian war. This insidious plague was i'm
ported into Belgium as early as 1877, and
proved dreadful infiction on the Belgian
farmers, travelling from place to place, till
the whole of Flanders was invaded. No
country ever suffered SO much from this
malady as Holland. 1t received the infec-
ton in 1927 before the separation between
it and Belgium-in the, at that period,
southern provinces of the kingdom. At
late date it showed itself in Hainault and
West Flanders, and in the year 1888 it
appeared in all it's malignity in what is now
called Holland. In that year it broke out
on farm in Gelderland, and from this
centre it spread over the whole country.
For several years the disease prevailed
in Northern and Western Europe, and at
length, in the memorable year 1941, the
contagious pleuro-pneumonia, after estab-
fishing itself in the surrounding countries,
invaded England. Arriving at Liverpool
and other ports, it made them centres OF
contagion. Wherever the diseased OR
barely infected cattle came they carried and
left in their track the seeds of contagion;
on shipboard, in railway trucks, on the
common roads, in stables, wherever they
trod or stood, or ate or drank. By this
route the disease reached this country
where it has been very destructive at
times.
In a review of the work mentioned, the
London Times says :-"Mr. Fleming gives
long quotations from continental authori-
ties, which leave in this mind no doubt OF
the highly contagious character of the dis,
ease, and fortunately as little doubt as to
the efficacy of judicious and timely precau'
tons against its spread. Fortunately, too
these precautions are not of difficult
costly, or out-of-the way character. They
are only such as common sense and hu,
mainly would suggest, and the only wonder
is that it should be found necessary to sug
gest them. If the poor creatures are
packed close in hot, stenchy, unventilated
stables, and exposed the rest of the year tc
rapid alterations of heat and cold, or tc
damp meadows and low-lying fog, the only
wonder is that they should require any
contagion to catch lung disease.