DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 177 
weak, and numbering 80; ears and legs, extremely cold, associated 
with shivering fits of the entire body; mouth, filled with partly 
masticated hay and grass; tongue, furred. The animal had seem. 
ingly a desire to eat, but was unable to open its mouth more than 
about an inch. It was likewise unable to swallow any thing but 
‘iquids, and these only in very smal] quantities. In spite of all I 
could do, the power of swallowing got worse, and this morning it 
died, very much to their disappointment, as it was a very high- 
bred animal. 
Could this foal have taken in the ova of the gad-fly, and some 
of them become hatched, and, instead of passing into the stomach, 
have become adherent to the base of the tongue, and there set. up 
such an amount of irritation as to cause the parts to swell so as te 
prevent the animal from swallowing? 
Observations on the Case.—We are indebted to Assistant Pro- 
fessor Varnell for the following remarks upon this singular case: 
‘The morbid specimen forwarded by Mr. G. Mather, is of very 
rare occurrence, We have never met with such an one before, nor 
are we aware that a similar instance has ever been recorded. The 
parts came to hand in a good state of preservation, although the 
temperature at the time was very high, so that we were enabled 
to form a pretty correct opinion as to the nature of the changes 
that had taken place during the life of the animal. The dorsum 
of the tongue, its root, the whole of the surface of the fouces, the 
velum palati, and the margin of the glottal opening, as well as the 
lining membrane of the larynx and pharynx, were very much in- 
flamed, and, in places, considerably thickened. These parts were 
likewise covered with a deposit seemingly consisting of a mixture 
of mucus, lymph, and pus. 
The most remarkable feature, however, of the case was in the 
cause that had given rise to the inflammatory state of the throat; 
namely, the existence of a number of smal] bots—the estrus hem- 
orrhoidalis (the ‘red-tailed horse bot’ of Bracy Clark)—which 
were found to be firmly adhering, by their tentacula, to the mu- 
cous membrane. Besides the number which were still in situ, 
many others had apparently been attached to the parts, but which 
had, most likely, been lost in the handling they had undergone. 
By a little reflection, we may probably form a correct opinion 
as to how these parasites became located in this unusual situation. 
We imagine that the foal, by licking, gathered the ova, in a state 
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