HEN-LICE. 1007 



Ion. He must now be put in another stall, distant from the one in 

 which he has been standing. Thus treated, it rarely requires more 

 than one washing to effect a permanent cure. The harness should 

 be thoroughly scrubbed, and put away for six or eight weeks. 

 These precautions are necessary to success in this otherwise trouble- 

 some disease." 



HEN LICE. 



It is not known to many that hen lice and common human 

 body lice grow on horses with great rapidity. Hen lice especially 

 are sometimes very troublesome. Prof. Bouley, in 1851, first 

 called attention to them. 



Symptoms. When a horse is taken suddenly with irresistible 

 itching, sometimes acting half frantic in his efforts to relieve him- 

 self by scratching, biting, striking up with his hind feet, and 

 stamping, examine him carefully for hen lice. This trouble is to 

 be particularly looked for where hens have access to, or roost in, 

 the stable. There is liable to be an eruption of very small vesicles 

 under the skin, the hair falling off in small, circular spots. In a 

 few days these spots are liable to extend. 



When neglected, or not attended to, the horse is liable to lose 

 his appetite, grow thin and weak, on account of the constant an- 

 noyance and irritation to which he is made subject. 



Treatment. Remove the cause. Hens should never be kept 

 near a horse stable, nor allowed to roost in it. Wash the animal 

 with a decoction of tobacco, or staphysgia; whitewash the stable, 

 and observe cleanliness. If subject to human lice, and the animal 

 is poor, with long hair, clip it off, and wash the animal with a de- 

 coction of stavesacre, one ounce of the powdered seeds to a pint of 

 water, taking care that the animal does not lick himself for some 

 time after the remedy has been applied. WUliaTns. 



An ounce of arsenic to a pail of soft water, with which wash 

 the horse thoroughly in a warm place, is claimed to be a sure 

 remedy for destroying either kind of lice. Somerville. 



RING -WORM. 



This is not a common disease among horses. It consists in a 

 parasitic growth of organic cells in the surface of the skin. Ring- 

 worm is a common affection in man, and is said to be communica- 

 ble from him to the lower animals. Like other diseases of the 

 skin, it is also generated by uncleanliness. 



