Chapter 2

_Total_ _Pla._ March 17 108 3 24 60 2 31 78 6 April 7 66 4 14 79 4 21 98 8 28 109 10 May 5 90 11 12 112 18 19 122 22 26 122 32 June 2 114 30 9 131 43 15 144 59 23 182 72 30 267 158 July 7 445 263 14 612 424

_The Out Parishes this Week were joined with the City._

21 1186 917 28 1728 1396 August 4 2256 1922 11 2077 1745 18 3054 2713 25 2853 2539 Septemb. 1 3385 3035 8 3078 2724 15 3129 2818 22 2456 2195 29 1961 1732 October 6 1831 1641 13 1312 1149 20 766 642 27 625 508 Novemb. 3 737 594 10 545 442 17 384 251 24 198 105 Decemb. 1 223 102 8 163 55 15 200 96 22 168 74

---- _The Total this Year is,_ 37294 _Whereof of the Plague,_ 30561

_Buried of all Diseases in the Year 1625._

_Total_ _Pla._ March 17 262 4 24 226 8 31 243 11 April 7 239 10 14 256 24 21 230 25 28 305 26 May 5 292 30 12 232 45 19 379 71 26 401 78 June 2 395 69 9 434 91 16 510 161 23 640 239 30 942 390 July 7 1222 593 14 1781 1004 21 2850 1819 28 3583 2471 August 4 4517 3659 11 4855 4115 18 5205 4463 25 4841 4218 September 1 3897 3344 8 3157 2550 15 2148 1612 22 1994 1551 29 1236 852 October 6 833 538 13 815 511 20 651 331 27 375 134 November 3 357 89 10 319 92 17 274 48 24 231 27 December 1 190 15 8 181 15 15 168 6 22 157 1

---- _The Total this Year is,_ 51758 _Whereof of the Plague,_ 35403

_Buried of all Diseases in the Year 1630._

_Total_ _Pla._

June 24 205 19 July 1 209 25 8 217 43 15 250 50 22 229 40 29 279 77 August 5 250 56 12 246 65 19 269 54 26 270 67 September 2 230 66 9 259 63 16 264 68 23 274 57 30 269 56 October 7 236 66 14 261 73 21 248 60 28 214 34 November 4 242 29 11 215 29 18 200 18 25 226 7 December 2 221 20 9 198 19 16 212 5

Buried in the 97 Parishes within the Walls, 2696 Whereof of the Plague, 190

Buried in the 16 Parishes without the Walls, 4813 Whereof of the Plague, 603

Buried in the 9 Out-Parishes in _Middlesex_ and _Surrey_ and at the _Pest-house_, 3045 Whereof of the Plague, 524

Buried in _Westminster_, 566 Whereof of the Plague, 31

_The Total of all the Burials this time,_ 10545 _Whereof of the Plague,_ 1317

_Buried of all Diseases in the Year 1636._

_Total_ _Pla._

April 7 119 2 14 205 4

_This Week these Parishes were added_: _St._ Margaret Westminster, Lambeth _Parish_, _St._ Mary Newington, Redriff _Parish_, _St._ Mary Islington, Stepney _and_ Hackney _Parishes_.

21 285 14 28 259 17 May 5 251 10 12 308 55 19 299 35 26 330 62 June 2 339 77 9 345 87 16 381 103 23 304 179 30 352 104 July 7 215 81 14 372 104 21 365 120 28 423 151 August 4 491 206 11 538 283 18 638 321 25 787 429 Septemb. 1 10_1 638 8 1069 650 15 1306 865 22 1229 775 29 1403 928 October 6 1405 921 13 1302 792 20 1002 555 27 900 458 November 3 1300 838 10 1104 715 17 950 573 24 857 476 December 1 614 321 8 459 167 15 385 85

---- _The Total of the Burials this Year, is_ 23359 _Whereof of the Plague,_ 10400

_Buried of all Diseases in the Year 1664/5._

_Total_ _Pla._

Decemb. 27 291 January 3 349 10 394 17 415 24 474 31 409 February 7 393 14 461 1 21 393 28 396 March 7 441 14 433 21 365 28 353 April 4 344 11 382 18 344 25 390 2 May 2 388 9 347 9 16 353 3 23 385 14 30 399 17 June 6 405 43 13 558 112 20 611 168 27 684 267 July 4 1006 470 11 1268 725 18 1761 1089 25 2785 1845 August 1 3014 2010 8 4030 2817 15 5319 3880 22 5568 4227 29 7496 6102 September 5 8252 6978 12 7690 6544 19 8297 7165 26 6460 5533 October 3 10 17 24 31 November 7 14

We may observe from hence, that the Months _July_, _August_, _September_, and _October_, the Plague was at the greatest height, and even in those Months, all other Distempers had greater Power over Human Bodies than in the others. When I consider this, I cannot help taking Notice, that in those Months we have our chief Fruit Seasons, and when it happens that there has been a Blight in the Spring, or the Summer has not given our Fruit due Maturity, I suppose that the Habit of the Body is so disposed as to receive Infection more readily, than in Years that either afford us little, or else very Ripe Fruit.

Again, in those warm Months, I find that we have vast Varieties of the smaller kinds of Insects floating in the Air, and it is a thing constant, that every Insect from the greatest to the smallest has its proper _Nidus_ to hatch and perfect it self in, and is led thither by certain Effluvia which arise from that Body which is in a right State for the preservation of it. In the Blight of Trees we find, such Insects as are appointed to destroy a Cherry Tree, will not injure a Tree of another Kind, and again, unless the Leaves of some Trees are bruised by Hail, or otherwise Distemper'd, no Insect will invade them; so in Animals it may be, that by ill Diet the Habit of their Body may be so altered, that their very Breath may entice those poisonous Insects to follow their way, 'till they can lodge themselves in the Stomach of the Animal, and thereby occasion Death. We may likewise suppose that where these Insects have met with their appointed Nests, they will certainly lay their Eggs there, which the Breath of the diseased Person will fling out in Parcels, as he has occasion to Respire; so that the Infection may be communicated to a stander-by, or else, through their extraordinary smallness, may be convey'd by the Air to some Distance.

It is observable, that all Insects are so much quicker in passing through their several Stages to the state of Perfection, as they are smaller, and the smallest of them are more numerous in their Increase than the others.

Two Years ago when the Plague was at _Amiens_, I pass'd by that Place, and then found the Contagion began to abate ('twas then about _October_, and the Rains began to fall) the People told me they were advised to eat Garlick every Morning to guard their Stomachs against Infection; but whether it was the Garlick, or the sudden alteration of the Season that was the occasion of the decrease of that Distemper, we shall examine in another Place; but we may Note, That all the Ground about that City is a Morass, so that there is no coming near it but by the Roads which are Paved and mark'd out. This Marsh or Morass, as all others do in the Summer Season, produce vast Numbers of Insects which are accounted unwholsome: But as some are of Opinion, it is rather a Noxious Vapour which occasions this Infectious Distemper, I shall mention my Opinion of such Vapours before I conclude.

_In the_ Philosophical Transactions, No 8. _we have the following Observations of Insects which are the Destroyers of Plants._

Some Years since there was such a swarm of a certain sort of Insect in _New-England_, that for the space of 200 Miles they poisoned and destroyed all the Trees of the Country; there being found innumerable little Holes in the Ground, out of which those Insects broke forth in the Form of _Maggots_, which turn'd into _Flies_ that had a kind of Sting, which they stuck into the Tree, and thereby envenom'd and killed it.

The like Plague is said to happen frequently in the Country of the _Cossacks_ or _Ukrani_, where, in dry Summers, they are infested with swarms of _Locusts_, driven thither by an _East_, or _South-East_ Wind, that they darken the Air in the fairest Weather, and devour all the Corn of that Country, laying their Eggs in Autumn, and then dying; but the Eggs, of which every one layeth two or three Hundred, hatching the next Spring, produce again such a number of _Locusts_, that then they do far more mischief than before, unless Rains fall which kill both Eggs and Insects, or unless a strong _North_ or _North-West_ Wind arise, which drives them into the _Euxine_ Sea: And it is very natural to suppose, that if the Winds have this Power over the larger sort of Insects; _i. e._ of moving them from one Country to another, the smaller kinds, which are lighter than the Air it self, may be interceptibly Convey'd as far as the Winds can reach.

_Dr._ Wincler, _Chief Physician of the Prince_ Palatine, _gives us the following Account of the_ Murrain _in_ Switzerland, _and the Method of its Cure, in a Letter to Dr._ Slare, _F. R. S. Anno_ 1682.

On the Borders of _Italy_ a _Murrain_ infested the Cattle which spread farther into _Switzerland_, the Territories of _Wirtemburg_, and over other Provinces, and made great destruction among them. The Contagion seem'd to propagate it self in the form of a _Blue Mist_, that fell upon those Pastures where the Cattle Grazed, insomuch that Herds have returned home Sick, being very dull, forbearing their Food, most of them would die away in twenty four Hours. Upon dissections were discovered large and corrupted Spleens, sphacelous and corroded Tongues, some had _Angina Maligna's_. Those Persons that carelesly managed their Cattle without a due respect to their own Health, were themselves Infected and Died away like their Beasts.

Having had timely Notice of this _Lues_ from our Neighbours, we made such Provision against the invading Disease, that very few of those who were infected by the Murrain died. Some impute this Contagion to the Witchcraft of three _Capuchins_ in _Switzerland_. But the more learned believe it to proceed from some _noxious Exhalations_ thrown out of the Earth by three distinct Earthquakes perceived here and in our Neighbourhood in the Space of one Year.

_The Method of Cure for the Cattle._

As soon as ever there was any suspicion of the Contagion upon any one of the Herd, the Tongue of that Beast was carefully examined, and in case they found any Aptha or Blisters whether White, Yellow, or Black, then they were obliged to rub, and scratch the Tongue with a Silver Instrument (being about the breadth and thickness of a Six-pence, but indented on the sides, and having a Hole in the middle whereby it is fastened to a Stick, or Handle,) 'till it Bleed, then they must wipe away the Blood with new unwashen Linnen. This done, a Lotion for the Tongue is used, made of _Salt_ and good _Vinegar_.

The _Antidote_ for the diseased Cattle is thus described.

Take of _Soot_, _Gun-Powder_, _Brimstone_, _Salt_, equal Parts, and as much Water as is necessary to wash it down, give a large Spoonful for a Dose.

_After which we have a further Account of the same Contagion by the same Hand._

----I lately received an Account of two ingenious Travellers, who assured me the Contagion had reached their Quarters on the Borders of _Poland_, having passed quite through _Germany_, and that the Method used in our Relation preserved and cured their Cattle. They told me the Contagion was observed to make its Progress Dayly, spreading near two _German_ Miles in twenty four Hours. This they say was certainly observed by many curious Persons, that it continually, without intermission, made progressive Voyages, and suffered no neighbouring Parish to escape; so that it did not at the same time infect Places at great distances. They added, that Cattle secured at Rack and Manger, were equally infected with those in the Field. It were worth the considering, whether this Infection is not carried on by some volatile Insect, that is able to make only such short flights as may amount to such Computations: For the account of the Ancients concerning the grand _pestilential Contagions_, is very little satisfactory to this Age, who derive it from a blind Putrefaction, from the incantations of ill Men, or from the conjunction of inauspicious Planets.

The following Account we have from Dr. _Bernard Ramizzini_, concerning the Contagion among the Black Cattle about _Padua_, Translated from _Acta Erudit_.

In the Year 1712 a dreadful and violent Contagion seiz'd the _Black Cattle_, which, like an increasing Fire, could neither be extinguish'd nor stopt by any Human means.

This First was observ'd in _Agro Vincentino_, and Discover'd it self more openly in the Country, spreading every way, even to the very Suburbs of _Padua_, with a cruel Destruction of the Cows and Oxen. It was also in _Germany_, in many Places; and is not yet wholly conquer'd.

Of this Distemper, Dr. _Ramazzini_ made a particular Dissertation; in which he inquir'd into the Causes of the Distemper, and what Remedies might be us'd, to put a stop to its violent Course.

It is evident, that this Distemper in Cows and Oxen was a true Fever, from the coldness of the Cattle at first, which was soon succeeded by a violent burning, with a quick Pulse. That this Fever was pestilential, its concomitant Symptoms plainly show, as difficulty of breathing, a Drowziness at the beginning; a continued Flux of a nauseous Matter from the Nose and Mouth, fetid Dung, sometimes with Blood, Pustules breaking out over the whole Body on the fifth or sixth Day, like the _Small-Pox_; they generally dyed about the fifth or seventh Day.

The Author tells us, that out of a great Drove, such as the Merchants bring yearly into _Italy_ out of _Dalmatia_ and the bordering Countries, one Beast happen'd to straggle from the rest, and be left behind; which a Cowherd brought to a Farm belonging to the Count _Borromeo_: This Beast infected all the Cows and Oxen of the Place where he was taken in, with the same Distemper he labour'd under; the Beast it self dying in a few Days, as did all the rest, except one only, who had a Rowel put into his Neck.

'Tis no strange thing therefore, if from the Effluvia, proceeding from the sick and dead Cattle, and from the Cow-Houses and Pastures where they were fed, and perhaps from the Cloaths of the Cowherds themselves, this Infection falling upon a proper Subject, should diffuse it self so largely. When therefore this subtile _venomous Exhalation_ happens to meet with any of the Cow-kind, joining it self with the serous Juices and Animal Spirits, 'tis no wonder it should disorder the natural Consistence of the Blood, and corrupt the Ferments of the Viscera; whence it follows, that the natural Functions of the Viscera are vitiated, and the requisite Secretions stopt. For Dr. _Ramazzini_ not only supposes, but asserts, that a Poison of this kind, rather fixes and coagulates, than dissolves the Blood: For beside the forementioned Symptoms accompanying the Disease, the Eye it self is a Witness; since the dead Carcases being open'd while they are yet hot, little or no Blood runs out; those Animals having naturally a thick Blood, especially when the fever has continued so many Days. And he adds, that whether this Plague came first from the Foreign Beast, or any other way, it only had its Effect upon some Animal, in which there was the morbid Seminary or Ground prepared for it.

In the dead Bodies of all the Cattle, it was particularly observ'd, that in the Omasus, or Paunch, there was found a hard compact Body, firmly adhering to the Coats of the Ventricle, of a large Bulk, and an intolerable Smell: In other Parts, as in the Brain, Lungs, _&c._ were several Hydatides, and large Bladders fill'd only with Wind, which being open'd, gave a disagreeable Stink: there were also Ulcers at the Root of the Tongue; and Bladders fill'd with a Serum on the sides of it. This hard and compact Body, like Chalk, in the Omasus, the Author takes to be the full Product of the contagious Miasma. He adds a Prognostick, believing that from so many Attempts and Experiments, and the Method observ'd in the Cure of this Venom, at last a true and specifick Remedy will be found out to extirpate the poisonous Malignity wholly: He also expects some mitigation of it, from the approaching Winter and North Winds. He does not think this Contagion can affect Human Bodies, since even other Species of ruminating Animals, symbolizing with the Cow-kind, are yet untouch'd by it; nor was the Infection taken by the Air, after the dead Bodies had been carefully Buryed.

As for the Cure of it: From the Chirurgical part, he commends _Bleeding_, burning on both sides the Neck with a broad red-hot Iron, making Holes in the Ears with a round Iron, and putting the Root Hellebore in the Hole, a _Rowel_ or _Seton_ under the _Chin_, in the _Dew-laps_; he also orders the _Tongue_ and _Palate_ to be often wash'd and rub'd with _Vinegar_ and _Salt_.

He recommends the Use of _Alexipharmicks_, and specifick Cordials; and three Ounces of Jesuits Bark, infus'd in ten or twelve Pints of Cordial Water or small Wine, to be given in four or five Doses; which is to be done in the beginning of the Fever, when the Beast begins to be Sick. Or else two Drams of _Sperma-Cæti_ dissolv'd in warm Wine. Again he prescribes _Antimonium Diaphoreticum_. Against Worms breeding, an Infusion of Quicksilver, or _Petroleum_ and Milk is to be given. And lastly, as to the Food, he directs Drinks made with Barley or Wheat Flower or Bread, like a _Ptisane_, fresh sweet Hay made in _May_ and macerated in fair Water. In the mean time the Cattle must be kept in a warm Place, and Cloath'd, daily shaking Fumigations in the Cow-Houses with Juniper Berries, Galbanum, and the like. As to Prevention, he enjoyns Care in cleaning the Stalls, and scraping the Crust off from the Wall; Care also is to be taken of their Food, the Hay and Straw not spoil'd by Rain in the Making; and he judges their Food ought to be but sparing: He likewise recommends currying, with a Comb and Brush; with Setons under their Chin, made with a hot Iron run through the Part, and kept open with a Rope put through it.

After which we have the Receipt: Or the Ingredients of a Medicine for the speedy Cure of that mortal Distemper amongst Cows; sent over from _Holland_, where a like Distemper raged among the Black Cattel.

_Recipe Veronicæ, Pulmonariæ, Hyssopi, Scordii, ana M._ iv. _Rad. Aristolohiæ rotundæ, Gentianæ, Angelicæ, Petasitidis, Tormentillæ, Carlinæ, ana unc._ 12. _Bac. Lauri & Juniperi, ana unc._ 12. _Misc. fiat Pulvis._

Bleed the Cow, and give her three or 4 Mornings successively, an Ounce of this Powder, with a Horn, in warm Beer.

If the Cow continues Distemper'd, after the Omission 2 or 3 Days, repeat the Medicine for 3 or 4 Days again.