DISEASES AND AILMENTS. 97 



colour; their size ranges from one or tAvo inches to as much 

 as twelve inches. To rid a horse of worms, the following treat- 

 ment is suitable: Give on an enijJty stomach a powder com- 

 posed as follows : santonine 1 draiclim, powdered areca nut 6 

 drachms. Mix with a little oatmeal, and give in a small bran- 

 mash. No food should be given for about three hours after 

 the medicine has been administered. A similar dose should 

 be given after a week has elapsed, and the following day a 

 drench, composed of three cunces of turpentine and one pint 

 of linseed oil should be administered on an empty stomach. 

 The horse must be rested for forty-eight houis afterwards. 

 After the drench, 2 drachms of sulphate of iron should be 

 given daily for a week or ten days in the food. In the case of 

 mares that are heavy in foal, the turpentine and linseed drench 

 must not be given. For yearlings and two-year-olds, half the 

 quantities prescribed for the drench should be administered, 

 and 1 drachm of sulphate of iron instead of 2 drachms must 

 be given. Salt is a useful preventive of worms, and it is there- 

 fore a good plan to keep a lump of rock salt within reach of 

 young horses at all seasons of the jeai'. Horses contract 

 worms either through drinking water containing the germs 

 (or embryos) of worms or by eating damp grass or other green 

 forage to which these germs are adhering. 



Parasitic Skin Diseases— Horses sometimes suffer 

 from the attacks of mange-mites, which cause an eruiDtion on 

 the skin and the plentiful production of scurf, together with 

 a considerable amount of itching. Treatment consists in first 

 removing the hairs on the parts affected by clipping if the coat 

 is long, and then scrubbing- the latter with a brush and warm 

 AAater and soft soap. When the scrubbing has been thoroughly 

 carried out, any of the following remedies may be applied, they 

 being well rubbed into the skin : (1) Sulphur ointment, (2) a 

 solution of 1 ounce of creoliii in 1 pint of water, (3) a mixture 

 of 2 ounces sulphur. 2 ounces oil of tar, and 1 pint sweet oil. 

 The usual causes of horses contracting parasitic skin diseases 

 are neglect to keep the skin clean and dirty stables. 



Ringrworin. — Another parasitic skin disease to which 



H 



