524 MANUAL OF MODERN FARRIERY. 



be necessary to throw the animal on some soft ground, or 

 upon straw, the more easily to effect the cutting. After 

 this is done, let the parts be rubbed with the above lotion, 

 and the whole foot wrapped round with a cloth moistened 

 in it. The animal may then be turned out to a soft pas- 

 turage. Should, however, the inflammation not subside in 

 a couple of days, bleeding from the veins of the foot will 

 be necessary. 



THE GAD-FLY, WURBLES, OR WORMALS. 



The gad-fly is exceedingly troublesome to cattle during 

 the summer months, more especially in very hot seasons. 

 This has been minutely investigated by Mr. Bracey Clarke, 

 and is scientifically called by him cestris bovis, or ox-fly. 

 It has otherwise been called the breeze-fly. Their bite is 

 very painful, and always creates a small swelling in that 

 part of the skin penetrated by its tongue. But that evil 

 of which we are about to treat has been successively 

 denominated, wurbles, or wormals, probably a cormption of 

 worm-holes, which are frequently found on the backs of 

 cattle. The female gad-fly, which produces these humours, 

 we have represented in plate x. fig. 15. From the obser- 

 vations of the celebrated naturalist and physiologist Reau- 

 mur, it appears that the female is furnished with a singu- 

 larly constructed ovipositor, which lengthens by a series of 

 sliding tubes, (place x. fig. 10,) precisely like that of an 

 opera-glass. There are four of these tubes, as may be seen 

 by pressing the belly of the fly till they come into view. 

 Like other ovipositors of the same sort, they are composed 

 (•f a horny substance. This instrument is furnished with five 

 j'oints, three of which are longer than the other two, and at 

 first sight not unlike a fleur-de-lis, though, upon narrower 

 inspection, they may be discovered to terminate in curved 



