Cowpox did not come before Pearson as a novelty, nor Jenner in connection therewith. He relates-- When I was in company with the late Mr. John Hunter, about nine years ago, I heard him communicate the information he had received from Dr. Jenner, that in Gloucestershire an infectious disorder frequently prevailed among the milch cows, named the Cowpox, in which there was an eruption on their teats; that those who milked such cows were liable to be affected with pustulous eruptions on their hands, which were also called the cowpox; that such persons as had undergone this DISEASE COULD NOT BE INFECTED BY THE VARIOLOUS POISON; and that as no patient had been known to die of the Cowpox, the practice of the inoculation of the poison of this disease, to supersede the Smallpox, might be found, on experience, to be a great improvement in physic. I noted these observations, and constantly related them, when on the subject of Smallpox, in every course of lectures which I have given since that time. (P. 5.) The communication of Jenner to Hunter was nothing of a discovery. There was no secret in the existence of Cowpox, nor in the belief that inoculation therewith fortified the sufferer against Smallpox. Dr. Pulteney, of Blandford, informed Pearson that-- Cowpox is well known in Hampshire, Dorsetshire, Somersetshire, and Devonshire. It is not unknown in Leicestershire, and other midland counties; but dairymen keep it a secret as much as possible, as it is disreputable to the cleanliness of their produce. (P. 8.) In the northern counties and in Wales, Cowpox was either rarely seen or unknown. In Cheshire, as much of a dairy county as Gloucestershire, where also men acted as milkers, the disease was never met with. Where, however, Cowpox was recognised, the faith in its efficacy against Smallpox appeared to be general, and inoculators regarded it as a bar to their success. Thus Mr. Giffard, surgeon, Gillingham, wrote to Pearson, 9th August, 1798-- Cowpox is more known in Dorsetshire than in most counties. Last winter I inoculated three parishes, and some of the subjects told me they had had the Cowpox, and that they should not take the Smallpox; but I desired to inoculate them, and did so two or three times, but without effect. Persons never take the Smallpox after they have had the Cowpox. (P. 14.) At a milk-farm on the Hampstead Road, Pearson found a man who had often seen Cowpox in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. He said that-- He had known many who had had Cowpox, and they never suffered from the Smallpox, although it prevailed in their own families. To use his own words, they who have had the Cowpox “are hard to take the Smallpox.” (P. 29.) Mr. Rolph, surgeon, Peckham, who had practised in Gloucestershire, informed Pearson that--