DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 99 



no bots ever attributed to any of them ; you can punish a horse as 

 much with a fine straw or a piece of paper twisted to a point, by 

 tickling him under the throat, in the flank, or upon the legs, as much 

 as the gad-fly does, or by catching a fly and holding close to his 

 ear while it makes a buzzing noise, all of which he attempts to escape 

 from, as much as from the presence of the gad-fly. It is impossible 

 for him to lick or bite the nits from off his legs, belly or throat, 

 without pulling the hair off, and as no horse ever swallows any hair, 

 it is impossible for them to be carried into the stomach ; besides, 

 there are thousands of horses in warm climates, and in stables, that 

 never see any gad-flies, yet all horses have bots. 



All that has been written in connection with the gad-flies produc- 

 ing bots, and all of the technical terms used to illustrate them and 

 their effects, have been to fill works upon the horse. 



Bots, as a disease in horses, like that of the kmpas and many other 

 old notions, will soon be obsolete. 



Lamp as. 



Lampas is a fullness and inflammation of the front portion of the 

 roof of the mouth, near the teeth. 



I here have to combat with an old-established opinion, that lam- 

 pas is a disease in horses ; but eighteen years' experience has taught 

 me that there is no such disease. 



The gums of all young horses are swollen below the teeth, as 

 nature intended they should be, and all of the discomforts of the 

 horse attributed to lampas, is the effect of improper feed and bad 

 care. You never find a horse of five years old with lampers ; at this 

 age the gums recede above the teeth, and continue to do so as they 

 grow older. 



The practice of burning colts for the lampas is a severe and savage 

 practice, destroying the roof of the mouth, and the power of retain- 

 ing the food until it can be well masticated. 



The hard gristly bars in the roof of all colts' mouths, have been 



