DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 177 



weak, and numbering 80; ears and legs, extremely cold, associated 

 with shivering fits of the entire body; mouth, filled with partly 

 masticated hay and grass; tongue, furred. The animal had seem 

 ingly a desire to eat, but was unable to open its mouth more than 

 about an inch. It was likewise unable to swallow any thing but 

 liquids, and these only in very small quantities. In spite of all I 

 could do, the power of swallowing got worse, and this morning it 

 died, very much to their disappointment, as it was a very high- 

 bred animal. 



Could this foal have taken in the ova of the gad-fly, and some 

 of them become hatched, and, instead of passing into the stomach, 

 have become adherent to the base of the tongue, and there set. up 

 such an amount of irritation as to cause the parts to swell so as to 

 prevent the animal from swallowing? 



Observations on the Case. — We are indebted to Assistant Pro- 

 fessor Varnell for the following remarks upon this singular case : 



' The morbid specimen forwarded by Mr. G. Mather, is of very 

 rare occurrence. We have never met with such an one before, nor 

 are we aware that a similar instance has ever been recorded. The 

 parts came to hand in a good state of preservation, although the 

 temperature at the time was very high, so that we were enabled 

 to form a pretty correct opinion as to the nature of the changes 

 that had taken place during the life of the animal. The dorsum 

 of the tongue, its root, the whole of the surface of the fences, the 

 velum palati, and the margin of the glottal opening, as well as the 

 lining membrane of the larynx and pharynx, were very much in- 

 flamed, and, in places, considerably thickened. These parts were 

 likewise covered with a deposit seemingly consisting of a mixture 

 of mucus, lymph, and pus. 



The most remarkable feature, however, of the case was in the 

 cause that had given rise to the inflammatory state of the throat; 

 namely, the existence of a number of small bots — the oestrus hem- 

 orrhoidalis (the ' red-tailed horse bot' of Bracy Clark) — which 

 were found to be firmly adhering, by their tentacula, to the mu- 

 cous membrane. Besides the number which were still in situ. 

 many others had apparently been attached to the parts, but which 

 had, most likely, been lost in the handling they had undergone. 



By a little reflection, we may probably form a correct opinion 

 as to how these parasites became located in this unusual situation. 

 We imagine that the foal, by licking, gathered the ova, in a state 

 " 12 



