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of Austria and Prussia, and in the restrictions
offered to the movements of cattle along the only
road by which they have hitherto reached us. But
this also is no longer of avail, for the shores of the
Baltic are now in direct communication with the
infected districts of Hungary and Galicia.
The origin of the present outbreak is most
obscure. There are many who declare that it must
have arisen spontaneously, and they point to many
remarkable instances where its occurrence could
not be traced to contagion. On the other hand,
the highest medical authorities in England and on
the Continent say that it is a specific disease which
can only be propagated by contagion: that nowhere
but in the steppes of Asia can it arise spontaneously,
and that it has never visited Europe but
by contagion. This is so firmly believed in all
the countries which border on infected districts,
that the severest regulations are in force to prevent
the movement of diseased animals; and the practical
results of them are, that they can always keep
the disorder in check. A remarkable instance of
this is given by Mr. Clement, a Belgian veterinary
surgeon, residing at Palin, in Hungary. He says
that in the summer of 1864 the disease prevailed
over several square leagues in the communes
around the estate of Palin; but while the cattle
belonging to the peasants and small farmers were
decimated by the plague, not a single case of it