140 "NATURAL HISTORY. 



2. Smalt stomach thread-u-orms, present with or without 

 cystic " abodes." These are representatives of large-mouthed or 

 small-mouthed spiroptera (or of both). It is the large-mouthed 

 form which occurs in the cysts. Of these latter, one was closed and 

 two were open. In four cases these small thread-worms were found, 

 but no trace of cyst ; these were probably the small-mouthed form ; un- 

 fortunately no microscopical examination was made to settle this point. 



3. Ascaris mee/alocephcila, in only one case out of twelve, is 

 probably considerably below its frequency among horses in England. 

 The specimen was small and apparently immature. 



4. Oxyuvis cwvula in only one case. This parasite, the 

 presence of which is denoted by a white or yellowish deposit of ova 

 around the anus of the host, is of frequent occurrence in the 

 rectum of country ponies, and certainly is not rare in India. Its 

 infrequency in these horses was probably due to this not being its 

 11 season" for abode in the rectum, or, as this host was a " Waler' 7 

 and young as compared with the most of the other horses, the 

 oxyurides may have been brought from the Oossoor Depot or from 

 Australia. In support of this latter view is the fact that the parasite 

 is very frequent in recently imported " Walers," hut opposed to it 

 is the fact that the host had been some two years in the ranks and 

 nearly three years in this country. 



5. The single tape-worm observed was apparently a Tcmia 



perfoliate/,; it was a "wretched specimen obtained from a Persian horse 



which had been some eighteen months in the country and had been 



marched from Bombay to Bangalore after purchase. I am inclined to 



think he brought this tape-worm with him, perhaps from Persia. This 



species of paras-ite is frequent among asses in England and not rare 



in the horse. The blood spots on the lining membrane of the colon 



in the case from which it was taken may have resulted from previous 



and recent occupation by other individuals of this species, hut there 



w r as no sign of more than the one which was met with in the 



caecum. Amphistomes were also present in this case, but they seldom 



cause blood spots. The effects of involuntary change of country by 



parasites on import or export of their hosts would be an interesting 



study — which of them in their unintentionally adopted countries find 



the complex requisites for their strange metamorphoses in development 



remains to he established. 



6. Strongylus armalus was in five cases found in both caecum 

 and colon, twice in the caecum and not in the colon ; twice in the 



