396 INTERNAL PARASITES. 



death. There have been cases of fatal interference with breathing 

 due to bots of g. hcemorrhoidalis lodging about the larynx. These 

 bots and those of g. pecorum frequently cause a great deal of irri- 

 tation and straining from their presence near the anus. It is 

 indisputable that the wounds caused by bots, in the stomach and 

 elsewhere, may have serious and even fatal consequences ; although 

 the perforations of the stomach not infrequently noticed in 

 post-mortem examinations of horses that have been infested with 

 bots, have, in the large majority of cases, been made by these 

 larvae after death. 



PREVENTION. — The best means of prevention are keeping the 

 horse away from pasture land during the season when the gadfly 

 lays its eggs, and picking or clipping them off when they are seen 

 on the skin. When found in large numbers on the coat, we may 

 with advantage rub them over with a mixture of one part of 

 paraffin oil and two parts of sweet oil, the effect of which will be 

 destructive to the eggs, and deterrent to the female gadflies. 



TREATMENT. — Generally speaking, bots in the stomach require 

 no treatment; for they have as a rule but little hurtful effect on 

 the horse ; medicines do not appear to have much power in dis- 

 lodging them ; and they pass out at their appointed time. Al- 

 though I have not tried the experiment, I am inclined to think 

 that a course of tartar emetic, say, two drachms a day in the food 

 for a fortnight, would have a marked influence in expelling these 

 parasites. If bots are seen to be lodged in the rectum, they can 

 be removed by the hand; the horse may be given an enema of 

 6 oz. of oil of turpentine and 3 pints of linseed oil ; and the inside 

 of the anus may be smeared round with a little mercurial ointment 

 on the finger. If bots are lodged at the back of the mouth, they 

 may be detached by brushing them over with eucalyptus oil, or a 

 mixture of one part of oil of turpentine and three parts of sweet 

 oil, applied by means of a mop made with a sponge or cotton 

 cloth ; or even by rubbing them off. 



Excellent results have been obtained in the removal of bots, in 

 the case of yearlings and two-year-olds, by giving two gelatine 

 capsules, each containing f drachm of bisulphide of carbon, eight 

 times a day, with intervals of two hours (total amount equal to 720 

 grains) ; and next morning, 150 grains of tartar emetic in the 

 drinking water. The bisulphide of carbon, which' has an effect 

 somewhat similar to chloroform, though not so lasting, caused the 

 animals to sway about a good deal during movement, and increased 

 their secretion of saliva. On the third day, a large number of 

 bots were passed in the dung, and the animals quickly recovered 



