224 APPENDIX. 



BOTS. 



There has been and is so much misconception about bots and their 

 destructiveness to horses, that a few words about them seems advisable. 

 All horses that are exposed to the bot-fly, must, as a result, have bots 

 in their stomachs. But the question of interest is, what can you do for 

 the cure of bots. In a report by Dr. Adams, published in the " Med- 

 ical and Agricultural Register," he stated, having made the following 

 experiments at different times on bots three-fourths grown: 



When immersed in rum, they live, 25 hours ; decoction of tobacco, 

 II hours ; strong oil of vitriol, 2 hours, 18 minutes ; essential oil of 

 mint, 2 hours, 5 minutes. Were immersed, without apparent injury, 

 in spirits of camphor 10 hours ; fish oil, 49 hours ; tinct. aloes, 10 

 hours ; in brine, 10 hours ; solution indigo, 10 hours. A number of 

 small bots, with one that was full grown, were immersed in a strong 

 solution of corrosive sublimate, one of the most powerful poisons ; the 

 small ones died in one hour, but the full-grown one was taken out of 

 the solution, six hours after its immersion, apparently unhurt. 



Bots hang to the muscular coating of the stomach, on the upper 

 side. We see very plainly that we cannot put any medicine into the 

 stomach that will affect the bot, that will not destroy the coating of 

 the stomach, and injure or destroy the horse. In the second place, 

 there is no veterinary surgeon of any pretension to skill, or being 

 authority, who can tell the symptoms of bots from colic. No attention 

 in fact is given to the subject of bots in practice. The symptoms 

 usually indicate colic, the case is treated accordingly, and cured, and 

 the presumption of the diagnosis is supposed to be correct. No man 

 can tell the symptoms of bots from colic, and if he could, he could do 

 nothing for Iheir expulsion ; this is the opinion of the best veterinary 

 surgeons jn the country. I have been led to take up time and space 

 with this matter to aid the reader should he have occasion to treat an 

 attack of "bellyache" or colic. The majority of horsemen will doc- 

 tor anyhow for bots without, in fact, knowing but little about the 

 difficulty. Do not be misled ; follow the treatment laid down for 

 colic on pages 146 and 148, and follow it rigidly. Do not be misled by 

 persons who may assume to know just what to " give to cure." The 

 treatment given has been used by the writer in hundreds of cases with 

 success, and it is the standard treatment of one of the best practition- 

 ers in the country. 



A CURE FOR RHEUMATISM. 



The berry of the common scoke-weed, or scoke-root — often called 

 poke root. The berries when ripe should be put into spirits — gin is 

 the best — at the rate of two ounces to the pint. Of the tincture thus 

 made, a tablespoonful is given three times a day. This simple rem- 

 edy, persisted in for a week or more, has effected some remarkable 

 cures. Has been published by the press as a remedy of value and is 

 thrown in. 



