28 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 
be definitely settled only by experiment; but most reasonable 
men would be content to forego any possible benefit, and be 
satisfied with a healthy horse destitute of bots. No doubt 
many diseases due to other causes are commonly attributed 
to these insects, but that they are frequently the cause of 
serious trouble is generally believed and admitted. In this 
instance prevention is comparatively easy, while all writers 
admit that there is no reliable cure, no mattter how much 
they may differ in other respects. The means of prevention 
consist chiefly in frequently removing or destroying the eggs, 
as mentioned above, and also in removing and destroying the 
full-grown larvee when observed attached to the rectum. In 
some countries the grooms frequently wash out the mouths 
of the horses with a suitable brush in order to remove the 
young larve. Many drugs have been recommended to re- 
move bots from the stomach, but none that do not endanger 
the life of the harse can be relied upon; and in cases where 
they bring away the larve, it is possible that those that are 
already in the intestines are the only ones affected. Spirits 
(or oil) of turpentine is a remedy in common use, but should 
be used with caution, if at all. A better plan, under ordi- 
nary circumstances, is to keep the horses in good health in 
other respects, so that they can the better sustain the attacks 
of the larve until they naturally pass away, which will usually 
take place without serious injury. In exceptional and severe 
cases only, resort should be had to special medicines of a dan- 
gerous or doubtful character; and then they should be given, 
if possible, in accordance with the advice of a competent phy- 
sician. There are several other species of bot-flies of the 
horse, which are less known, however, in this country. 
The Gastrophilus nasalis is a smaller species, densely 
hairy, with the thorax yellowish red or rust-colored. The 
abdomen is either whitish at base, with the middle black and 
the apex yellowish-brown and hairy; or the base is whitish 
and all the rest brown; or the middle is black, with the base 
and apex whitish, with grayish hairs. The wings are un- 
spotted. The larvae are much, like those of the preceding, 
except that they are smaller, and also live in the stomach of 
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