unaffected, and scarcely ever fastening upon an aged horse. I have kept several old horses in situations where they have been surrounded by others affected with influenza, and they have not caught the disorder: for these reasons I have pronounced the disease not contagious. Had I once entertained a different notion, I should have considered it my imperative duty to have used every precaution to prevent its spreading: I took none, and I have not had the slightest reason to repent of it.

My treatment has been of but a simple kind. In all cases where the pulse, and mouth, and eyes, and speedy accession of tumid tender legs, have indicated a good deal of febrile action in the system, I have not hesitated to abstract blood: I have not in general found it necessary or expedient, however, to take away more than six pounds, and scarcely in one genuine case to recur to bloodletting a second time. Immediately after abstracting blood, I have given small doses of aloes in conjunction with tartar emetic and nitre. As I have in no case commenced medical treatment before the disorder has fully developed itself, I have found several that have not required loss of blood; and some few that have restored themselves after being kept for a day or two on a cooling laxative diet. To remove the tumefaction of the legs, which sometimes has enormously augmented their volume, and proved very troublesome to subdue, I have kept my patients slowly walking about for three hours a day-an hour in the morning, a second at noon, and a third in the evening-in shady places in the open air; and when practicable, grazing them and turning them loose. And nothing, I feel persuaded, has contributed more than this to their recovery. Should the laxative medicine given in the first instance fail to render the dung a soft mass, I have, after an interval of twenty-four hours, followed it by the exhibition of half a drachm of aloes in combination with one drachm of tartarized antimony and two of nitre, conjoined with common turpentine. The subsidence of the operation of the laxative has in a majority of cases been succeeded by the return of the appetite and spirits; and after some few days' continuance of a diet, changed from bran mashes entirely to three feeds of corn a-day, and a mash at night, by the restoration of health and strength. In other cases the continuance of swelling in the legs and sheath has rendered diuretic medicine highly useful, and walking exercise in the open air, of paramount importance. In some few, an appearance of languor and debility has called for the administration of tonics and stimulants. Various medicines have been prescribed by different practitioners to answer these ends,-æther, ammonia, steel,

bark, gentian, &c. I have given by way of a tonic-diuretic, with as much effect as I could expect, a ball, twice a-day, composed of two drachms of steel, two drachms of gentian, and five grains of finely powdered cantharides, made up with common turpentine; I have also exhibited carbonate of ammonia in conjunction with gentian.

Relapse. Rare but marked instances have presented themselves of relapse: about half a dozen horses experienced a second attack, differing only from the first in being milder. In one or two subjects a third attack seemed demonstrable.

Pathology. The parts principally affected appear to be, as far as we are enabled by the symptoms to point them out, the brain and nerves, the spinal marrow, and the serous or exhalent structures. The dispiritedness and indications of head-ache, together with the augmented sensibility of many parts, are sufficient to warrant us in inferring cerebral and nervous derangement or excitation; while the infiltration of the legs, the sheath, the submaxillary space, and the eyelids-all parts redundant in cellular structure, and more or less dependent in their position -make it manifest that the exhalent system altogether is in an inordinate state of activity. This seems to be the result of the cerebral excitation; or, in other words, a fever is set up in the constitution in consequence of some alarm or irritation the cerebral or nervous system has experienced from some external influence, supposed to be atmospheric, which we neither know, nor profess to know, any thing about. And indeed of the nature of the fever we understand as little as we do about the cause: we see it first in an inflammatory form; next, in a state of decline, as though it were about to take its departure altogether, and in some cases actually doing so; but in others, instead of leaving, changing into a low debilitative character, and in that form hanging about the animal for quite an indefinite length of time, giving rise, on occasions, to fresh grievances, such as local inflammations or swellings, abscesses, diseased lungs, &c.

That the fever is specific or uncommon is shewn by various peculiar local disorders attending it, by its course and tendency, and by the little power we have over it by medicine. That it is not either infectious or contagious is made evident from the manner in which it affects horses standing congregated together in large bodies. That it is neither destructive nor malignant in its influence is proved by its evanescent character, and by the speedy return of health. That its production is connected with atmospheric causes seems most probable from the circumstance of its being found to prevail so extensively and generally at the

same season, and, in all localities, in the centre of London and upon the Surrey hills-to present one uniform aspect. That we are without any specific remedy for it, may be safely argued from the fact of its having been known to disappear or end its course in the return of health, under a great variety of not only different remedies, but even under different modes of treatment. In truth, those practitioners appear to have succeeded best who have done little more than look on, only keeping out of the way all such influences as were or might be productive of harm, and watching that no organ-the lungs especially-became seized with inflammation during its course. Of all the steps taken towards effecting recovery, the removal of the patient from his domicile or place where he experienced the attack into the open air, or a change of air, seems to be that which has been attended with most benefit; and numerous have been the cases in which that change alone has, unaided, worked a cure.

NORFOLK QUARTERLY REPORT.

The general prediction amongst the weather wise, was decidedly in favour of a severe winter; for the correctness of which there seemed to be some foundation in its premature commencement in October last. Fortunately, however, for the farmer, and indeed, for all classes, this anticipation has not been realized—at least to the extent then apprehended; for though the new year opened with a most Siberian aspect, both as to frost and snow, the latter of which, as is well known, fell in such quantities, with a violent drift from the north-east, as to occasion very general and great inconvenience, yet we have known the frost far more severe, both in intensity and duration, than in the winter which, we hope, we may now call past, though even this very morning the thermometer stood no higher than 29°, and the ground was, till near noon-time, covered with snow. It has, therefore, been a long winter, but we ought not to say, a severe one. The greatest cold with us appears to have been on the 2nd of January, when the thermometer sunk to 16°; but this was of short continuance; for a thaw took place, and the earth once more regained its natural colour; the melting of the snow saturating the soil, and filling every stream, pond, and ditch, to overflowing. The general observation is, that the springs have never been so high of years. On the whole, the season may be reckoned a backward one; but we do not think the less favourably of it, or of our future prospects, on that account; for if the lowness of temperature has prevented vegetation

66

As a

from making any great start, that very circumstance has served to protect both grain and fruit; thus the backwardness of the spring may, and, we doubt not, will, operate in favour of an increased produce. How often do we witness disappointment and loss from premature mildness in the spring? True, we enjoy warm and sunny days should they occur even in February; but we not unfrequently pay dearly for such an unseasonable indulgence. At all events, we have had nothing of the kind as yet; for whenever, even up to the present moment, the remark has been made to us, How cold the weather is !" the answer has always been, "Well-better now than six weeks hence." necessary consequence, it is almost superfluous to add, that the growing crops are looking very shy and rusty. Still we are inclined to think there is material deficiency of plant among the wheats, (and nothing but wheats have as yet made their appearance), and that so soon as the weather changes, they may do better as a general crop than if ever so luxuriant in straw and colour. Barley sowing has pretty generally commenced; and, in consequence of the late frosty nights, the land has, with very few exceptions, worked well; the tilth being, for the most part, fine, and comparatively dry. The same circumstances have, of course, influenced the sowing of all other spring crops; and therefore, on the whole, we are justified, notwithstanding the present cold and winterly aspect of things in the vegetable world, in the opinion, that the season, thus far, is a kind one.

Feed, as might be expected, is scarce; owing, first, to the failure of the white turnip crop; and next, to the slow growth of the pastures and artificial grasses. The farmers, however, by the aid of oil cake, malt cooms, and other auxiliaries, but chiefly by a judicious attention to economy in husbanding their resources, have contrived to struggle on full as well, or better than might have been expected. By the bye, this winter has stamped an additional value on Swedish turnips and field beet, the crops of which have been generally good, and were, in many cases, carted to spots where white turnips had failed, and there fed off the land-the superabundance of one crop making good the deficiency of the other.

Lambs are generally in course of dropping-as usual, with very various success; but whatever may be the partial losses amongst them, we have not heard of that enormous, sweeping destruction of lives which some years present.

Malt cooms, or chives, as they are sometimes called, have proved a valuable acquisition to the sheep farmer, and particularly when mixed with cut hay or straw, as food for breeding ewes. Now we are on the subject of cutting food, we ought to mention the great advantages derived from cutting turnips for sheep. Machines for this purpose are in great request; and we have no doubt, that in a very short time, they will be to be found on every well arranged farm. Independent of the turnips going further when cut, there is no doubt but the sheep do better upon them than when given whole, and often covered with dirt and soil.

What a valuable plant is the lucern-yet, how little understood ! The great mistake attending it seems to be, the not bestowing care enough on it in the article of cleaning and keeping free from weeds. The writer well knows, from experience, that it will pay for any reasonable outlay of this kind. People too often neglect this; first, from fear of the expense; and next, a sort of vague, but ill-founded suspicion, that forking and hoeing tend to thin and destroy the plants. It is very true that some few are destroyed; but what is the number of these compared with those that would be thrown out by grass and other rubbish-to say nothing of the general weakness that must pervade a foul crop ? We have no doubt, because we have tried the plan over and over again, that if a few plants are lost in the process of cleaning. which we admit will be the case, that the remainder, from the improved state of the land, will acquire additional strength, and far more than outweigh any numerical loss in the quantity of stems. Nay, we have fancied, that as the plant got thinner, the crop became heavier, the number and strength of shoots evidently more than making up for any deficiency in the number of plants. Hence will be seen the importance of not being too much in a hurry to break up what appears to be a weak and failing crop. Let that crop be well dressed with malt dust and kept thoroughly clean-we will answer for the result.

There is another manure which has lately been revived amongst us, and that is gypsum, which has been warmly recommended as a topdressing for sainfoin, lucern, and other layers. We shall keep our eye upon the different experiments now in progress around us, and shall, in due time, report upon them.

Our corn markets are not quite so good at the opening of the quarter, especially for barleys; good malting samples, which at one time fetched 40s., and even more, may now be had for 32s. or 33s. per quarter. The alarm as to the short supply of this article proved to be wholly unfounded. The malting season is fast drawing to a close, and there still remains a considerable stock on hand. Some of our merchants who speculated at 36s. or 38s., under the idea that the shortness of the crop must keep up the price, have found themselves wofully disappointed, the demand being very slack even at the reduction that has taken place. Wheats, which, during the damp weather came to hand in very cold and bad condition, are of late much improved; and are proportionally better in price good samples fetch from 52s. to 58s. per quarter.

Diverging from this part of our subject, and yet forming an essential part of it, we cannot omit to mention in terms of the highest commendation, the excellent working of the new poor law. This bold, but admirable measure may now be said to have had a full and fair trial throughout the county of Norfolk, every parish of which (upwards of 750 we believe) is now united under the new system. Almost all the unions have issued testimonials in its favour: proclaiming the enormous reduction that has been made in the poor rates; but all joining in the highly gratifying assertion that this is but a small portion of the benefit accruing from the measure, when compared with the vastly improved NEW SERIES, VOL. I, NO. I.

R