444 



about 2 inches long and like a stout thread, thicker towards the head 

 than towards the tail, and with numerous little conical elevations 

 (papilla^) around the head. The young worms are numerous in the 

 body of the adult female Avorm. -, t^- i t.oT.Ux 



The Avorm has become common m given localities, and probably 

 enters tlie system with food or water. Treatment is not satisfactory, 

 but the affected surface should be kept clean by sponging, and the 

 pressure of harness on any affected part must be avoided. Thus rest 

 may become essential. The part may be frequently washed with a 

 strong solution of sulphide of potassium. 



SUMMER SORES FROM FILARIA IRRITANS. 



The summer sores of horses {dermatitis granulosa, boils) have been 

 traced to the presence in the skin of another parasite, 3 millimeters 

 "in length and extremely attenuated {Filaria irritans, Railliet). The 

 sores may be seen as small as a millet seed, but more frequently the 

 size of a pea, and may become an inch in diameter. They may 

 appear on any point, but are especially obnoxious where the harness 

 presses or on the lower part of the limbs. They cause intense and 

 insupportable itching, and the victim rubs and bites the part until 

 extensive raw surfaces are produced. Aside from such friction the 

 sore is covered by a brownish-red, soft, pulpy material with cracks 

 or furrows filled with serous pus. In the midst of the softened mass 

 are small, firm, rounded granulations, fibrinous, and even caseated, 

 and when the soft pultaceous material has been scraped off the sur- 

 face bears a resemblance to the fine yellow points of miliary tuber- 

 culosis in the lung. The worm or its debris is found in the center of 

 such masses. These sores are very obstinate, resisting treatment for 

 months in summer, and even after apparent recovery during the cold 

 season they may appear anew the following summer. In bad cases 

 the rubbing and biting may cause exposure of synovial sacs and ten- 

 dons, and cause irremediable injury. Even in winter, however, when 

 the diseased process seems arrested, there remains the hard, firm, 

 resistant patches of the skin with points in which the diseased prod- 

 uct has become softened like cheese. 



The apparent subsidence of the'disease in winter is attributed to the 

 coldness and comparative bloodlessness of tlie skin, whereas in sum- 

 mer, with high temperature, active circulation, and rapid cell-growth, 

 inflammation is increased, itching follows, and from the animal rub- 

 bing the part the irritation is persistently increased. The hotter the 

 climate the more troublesome the disease. 



The life history of the parasite is unknown, but it probably enters 

 the system with the food or water. 



Treatment consists, first, in placing the animal in a cool place and 

 showering the surface with cold water. The parasite may be destroyed 

 by rubbing the surface of the wound witli iodoform and covering it 



