114 THE INTERNAL PARASITES OF 



excretions, when examined microscopically, will be found 

 to consists principally of vegetable debris. 



As I have elsewhere shown, the vegetable nature of 

 the intestinal contents of the maw-worm or pin-worm of 

 the horse (Oxyuris curvula) was well known to Dujardin ; 

 and as regards these troublesome parasites, I may further 

 observe that their eggs are capable of forming yellow- 

 coloured incrustation masses at the verge of the rectum 

 of the horse. Such external agglutinations afford sure 

 evidence of the existence of intestinal worms ; therefore, 

 as a simple means of diagnosis, they should not be over- 

 looked by the practical veterinarian. 



If any person doubts the importance of a knowledge of 

 parasites in reference to agricultural and hygienic mat- 

 ters, I would suggest to him the propriety of taking the 

 trouble to wade through the extended and widely-scat- 

 tered literature of parasitism as it affects domesticated 

 animals in general and the horse in particular. 



Although I have spent some months in this instructive 

 occupation, I have not attempted, in this record, to do 

 more than refer to a few of the practical papers written by 

 veterinarians; because, as a rule, purely professional notices 

 of the character described are chiefly valuable as showing 

 the extent of parasitism, and the many ways in which 

 the entozoa prove either injurious or fatal to their 

 bearers. 



As regards the horse, I have already explained why 

 professional men think so little of the parasites which 

 attack this animal ; nevertheless, I cannot dismiss this 

 section of my subject without calling attention to a few 

 interesting cases showing the necessity for a more 

 thorough knowledge of the entozoa of the horse by 

 professional men. 



