THB SKIN. 233 



any kind of eruption or open sores from the energy of scratching. Scabs 

 of any thickness may form, but the special features are the intense itch- 

 ing and the discovery of the acarus. 



Treatment. This consists in the removal of scabs by soapsuds, 

 and, if necessary, a brush, and the thorough application of tobacco one 

 and one-half ounce and water two pints, prepared by boiling. This 

 may be applied more than once, and should always be repeated after 

 fifteen days, to destroy the new brood that may have been hatched in the 

 interval. All harness and stable utensils should be similarly treated; 

 blankets and rubbers may be boiled, and the stalls should be covered 

 with a whitewash of quicklime, containing one-fourth pound of chloride 

 of lime to the gallon. 



Grubs in the Skin, This malady is caused by the grubs (Hypo- 

 DBRMA SiLENUs), getting under the skin. This Hj deposits its embryo 

 on or in the skin of the horse, as the Hypoderma bovis does in the ox, 

 and the resulting larvae pass the winter in little rounded sacks beneath 

 the integument, furnished with a central opening, through which the 

 mature larva escapes in early summer and develops into a fly. In dis- 

 tricts where they exist the grubs should be pressed out of the skin and 

 destroyed in the course of the winter. 



Grubs on the Skin, or Fly-Blow. The following flies, among 

 others, deposit their eggs on open sores or on wet filthy parts of the 

 skin, where their larvae or grubs give rise to serious trouble : Lucilia 

 Caesar (blue bottle), L,ucilia hominivorax (screw-worm fly), Musca 

 vomitoria (meat-fl)'), and Sarcophaga carnaria (flesh-fly.) To prevent 

 their attacks wet, filthy hair should be removed and wounds kept clean, 

 and rendered antiseptic b}' a lotion of carbolic acid one part, water fifty 

 parts; by a mixtui'e of one ounce oil of tar in twenty ounces sweet oil, 

 or some other antiseptic. If the grubs are already present they should 

 be picked off and one of these dressings freely applied. 



Flies. A number of flies attack horses and suck their blood, pro- 

 ducing great annoyance, and in some instances death. These insects 

 not only suck the blood, but also often instil an acid poison into the skin, 

 and in exceptional cases transfer infectious germs from animal to animal 

 by inoculation. 



Various devices are resorted to, to prevent the attacks, as to sponge 

 the skin with a decoction of walnut or elder leaves, of tobacco, to dust 

 with Persian insect powder, to keep a light blanket or fly-net on the 

 horse, to close doors and windows with fine screens and destroy by py- 



