FILAKI.5<:. 407 



wateiy liumour of the eye (p. 339). From tlie abdomen they some- 

 times descend into the sac which contains the testicles. 



All of us who have lived in India must have observed the frequency 

 with which many Arab and Persian horses suffer, in that country, 

 from a chronically enlarged condition of the testicles and spermatic 

 cord, usually brought on by the presence of filaria equina (p. 345). 

 The late Mr. J. H. Steel (" Veterinary Journal," vol. xxvii., p. 327), 

 when writing about " big testicle and dropsical cord," states : 

 '' Almost invariably on incision into the scrotum in hydrocele 

 (dropsy of the scrotum), sarcocele (tumour of the testicle), and 

 cases of adhesions of the testis to the scrotum, one or more speci- 

 mens of the thread-worms in question wriggle through the incision, 

 or come away with the hydrocele fluid." 



Castration appears to be the only treatment which could be 

 successfully ap^Dlied to such cases. 



Filariije are also the cause of " worm in the eye " (p. 34:4), and 

 of one form of kumree (p. 543). 



The eggs and embryos of filarise are to be frequently found in 

 stagnant water (abundantly so in many parts of India), along with 

 which they gain access into the alimentary canal of the horse 

 that drinks the contaminated fluid. Being extremely minute, 

 they become absorbed, or work their way into the blood-vessels 

 and are taken into the blood-current to be deposited in some 

 fitting resting-place, from which, on becoming fully developed, 

 the worms issue into active life. 



6. SPIROPTERA RETICULATA is a very thin, spiral-shaped 

 worm, which is about 18 inches long, when full grown, and 

 is found in fibrous tumours, principally, about the flexor tendons 

 of the fore legs. The tumours are about an inch in diameter, and 

 respectively contain a coiled-up worm in their centre. These para- 

 sites are also met with in the synovial bm'sse of the fore legs. 

 Removal of the tumour with the knife and subsequent antiseptic 

 treatment (p. 74) of the wound are the appropriate remedies. 

 The presence of the tumours gives rise to more or less lameness. 



PREVENTION OF WORMS IN HORSES.— From a practical 

 point of view the best way for preventing horses at grass from 

 getting worms is to avoid infected pastures, keep them on dry 

 soil, see that their water supply is pure, and allow them a liberal 

 supply of rock salt. Professor Theobald wisely remarks that 

 " one of the most important things to be done in an outbreak 

 is to ensure the destruction of the dung, with its heavy comple- 

 ment of eggs, and thus prevent the distribution of the disease, 

 as well as the continuance of it in an already infected area." 



If the land on which the affected horses are grazed is under 



