THE HORSE EOT FLY 135 



Another view is, that the maggots on hatching crawl 

 on the skin, and thus cause a slight itching, which 

 induces the horse to lick the skin ; and thus, in either 

 case, the maggots may be conveyed into the mouth. 

 Hence, although it is possible that some stay by the 

 way, most of them pass downwards with the food into 

 the stomach, where they fix themselves to the white 

 membrane, which lines what may be called the " gullet 

 end" of the stomach. In general "they fix them- 

 selves on the gastric mucous membrane, and almost 

 exclusively in the left sac, though some stop in the 

 aesophagus, in the part where the membrane offers the 

 same characters as in the left sac of the stomach." By 

 the same authority (Professor L. Neumann), it is noted 

 that the numbers found in one stomach have been 

 counted from ten or more up to hundreds, as 600, 700, 

 or even 1000, and are stated to be collected in one or 

 more groups, one of which is always larger than the 

 others. The maggot when first hatched is long, narrow, 

 and somewhat worm-like ; but in the stage in which it 

 is best known, up to the first moult, it is of the shape 

 shown in Fig. III. For the greater part of its length 

 barrel-shaped, banded round with rows of prickles or 

 horny points, blunt at the "tail" end, widest at the middle, 

 and gradually lessening in size towards the foremost 

 end, in which is a slit or opening, that serves the 

 purpose of sucking in food, with a brown hard hook 

 (see Figs. IV. and V.) on each side. When full grown, 

 the maggots are about three-quarters of an inch in length, 

 and yellowish-drab in color ; early in life they are red 

 or flesh color. 



When the process of fixing themselves has been 

 observed, it is noted that they draw back the mouth 

 hooks until the points are close together, then, keeping 

 them side by side, use them as a boring instrument, 

 until whatever they are working at is well pierced. Next, 

 spreading the hooks sideways, and dragging them 

 downwards, the maggots secure such a firm hold that no 



