THE GENESEE FAEMEE. 



BoTs AND CoLto tN HoiwKS.— Myself, as well as others, 

 would be pleased to see some of the best remedicj? (those 

 tliat can be relied on,) for the Bots or (trubs, and the Oilie, 

 in horses. We are much perplexed sometimes to know 

 how and what to administer for the relief of that noble ani- 

 mal. Edw. K. Coke.— Murnt Ordinary, Va., 1851. 



We have no doubt that many liorses have been 

 doctored for the Bots, and pei'haps some have died 

 under the treatment, while others have recovered 

 in spite of it, when colic, constipation, inflamation 

 of the bowels, or some other disea.se, has been the 

 cause of all the difficulty. "Botn" is a favorite 

 theme with horse doctors of more pret^'usions than 

 knowledge. The best English authorities agree in 

 stating that the Bots is never injurious to the horse, 

 causing no disease, or even symptoms of disease, 

 while others claim that they are injurious. But 

 even if this is bo, we hardly know how the insect 

 is to be dislodged from the stomach, for Cole says 

 they have lived in rum twenty-four hours, a de- 

 coction of tobacco eleven hours, spirits of tupen- 

 tine forty-five minutes, and in brine ten hours, 

 without any effect. Their entering the stomach 

 may be prevented to some extent by rubbing the 

 parts where the eggs are observed, with a cloth 

 and warm water, or applying grease or oil To 

 make the matter plain, we copy the full descrip- 

 tion and engraving, showing the fly, the egg, and 

 the bots as they are attached to the stomach, 

 from Youatt's work on the Horse: 



"In the spring and early part of the eumraer, 

 horses are much troubled by a grub or caterpillar, 

 which crawls out of the anus, fastens itself under 

 the tail, and seems to cause a great deal of itching 

 or uneasiness. Grooms are sometimes alarmed at 

 the appearance of these insects. Their history is 

 curious, and will dispel every fear in regard to 

 them. We are indebted to Mr. Bracy Clark for 

 almost all we know of the bot 



a and &, the eggs of the gad-fly adhering to the hair of 

 the horse. 



c. The appearance of the bots on the stomach, firmly ad- 

 hering by their hoolied mouths. The UKirliSor ilciivi-.'^sions 

 are scon 'which are loft on the coat of the stf)mach when the 

 bots are detaclied from their hold. 



rf, The bot detached. 



e. The female of the gad-fly, of the horse, prepared to 

 deposit her eggs. 

 /, The gad-fly by which the red bots are produced, 

 g, The smaller, or red hot. 



"A species of gad-fly, e, the oetrus equi, is in the 

 latter part of the summ.er exceedingly busy about 

 the horse. It is observed to be darting with great 

 rapidity towards the knees and sides of the ani 

 mal. The females are depositing their eggs on the 

 hair, and which adhere to it by means of a gluti- 

 nous fluid with which they are surrounded {a and 

 b). In a few days the eggs are ready to be 

 hatched, and the slightest application of warmth 

 and moisture will liberate the little animals which 

 they contain. The horse in licking himself touches 

 the egg ; it bursts, and a small worm escapes, 

 which adheres to the tongue and is conveyed with 

 the food into the stomach. There it clings to the 

 cuticular portion of the stomach, c, by means of a 

 hook on either side of its mouth ; and its hold is 

 so firm and so obstinate, that it must be broken 

 before it can be detached. It remains there feed- 

 ing on the mucus of the stomach during the whole 

 of the winter, and until the end of the ensuing 

 spring ; when, having attained a considerable size, 

 d and being destined to undergo a certain trans- 

 formation, it disengages itself from the cuticular 

 coat, is carried into the villous portion of the 

 stomach with the food, passes out of it with the 

 chyme, and is evacuated with the dung. 



"The larva or maggot seeks shelter in the sroimd, 

 and buries itself there ; it contracts in size, and 

 becomes a chrysalis or grub, in which state it lies 

 inactive for a few weeks, and then, bursting from 

 its confinement, assumes the form of a fly. The 

 female, becoming impregnated, quickly deposits 

 her eggs on those parts of the horse which he iS 

 most accustomed to lick, and thus the species is 

 perpetuated. 



"There are several plain conckLsions to be 

 drawn from this history. The bots can not, while 

 they inhabit the stomach of the horse, give tho 

 animal any pain, for they have fastened on the 

 ctiticular and insensible coat. They cannot stira- 

 tdate the stomach, and increase its digestive power, 

 for they are not on the digestive portion of the 

 stomach. Tliey cannot, by their roughness, assist 

 the trituration or rubbing down of the food, for 

 no such ofiiee is performed in that part of the 

 stomach — the food is softened, not rubbed down. 

 They «mnot be injurious to the horse, for he en- 

 joys the most perfect health when the cuticular 

 part of his stomach is filled with them, and their 

 jiresencc is not even suspected until they appear 

 at the antis. They cannot be removed by medi- 

 cine, because they are not in that part of the 

 stomach to which medicine is usually conveyed ; 

 and if they were, their mouths are too deeply bu- 

 ried in the mucus for any medicine, that can be 

 safely administered, to affect them ; and, last of 

 all, in due course of time they detach themselves, 

 and come away. Therefore, the wise man will 

 leave them to themselves, or content himself with 

 picking them off when they collect under the tail 

 and annoy the animal. 



"The smaller bot, /and ff, is not so frequently 

 found. 



"Of inflamation of the stomach of the liorse, ex- 



j:^^- 



