THE CANADIAN SPORTSMAN AND NATURALIST. 



247 



suffered, and was still suffering, from an ag- 

 gravated form of nasal catarrh. The discharge 

 was quite purulent, of a yellowish color fre- 

 quently tinged with blood, with a disagreeable 

 odor and at times intolerably offensive. On the 

 24th there was a profuse discharge of much 

 purulent matter from the nostril and mouth, 

 when all pain instantly subsided. This dis- 

 charge continued for three days, during which 

 time as much as sixteen ounces escaped, in- 

 creasing in consistency until it was pure pus. 

 The odor becoming much more offensive, his 

 cough was much more troublesome and fever 

 increased to such an extent as to produce 

 slight delirium for twelve hours. What was 

 thrown off was with much difficulty expecto- 

 rated, and was sanious, containing microscopic 

 particles of osseous matter together with flakes 

 of plastic exudation. The patient had spoken 

 with difficulty for thirty-six hours and there 

 was much trouble in swallowing. The soft 

 palate had evidently given way and there was 

 an entire inability to protrude the tongue or 

 use it in speech. 



" About this time a worm similar to a 

 maggot dropped from his nose. That was the 

 first indication or suspicion that there was 

 anything of the kind present. There was not, 

 as in some other cases reported, any swelling, 

 or movement traceable under the skin, nor 

 was there at any time any complaint of the 

 patient, calculated to lead to a knowledge of 

 their presence. After the appearance of the 

 first, I expected more, and was surprised to 

 see them drop from the nostrils and wiggle 

 from the mouth without any discomfort to 

 the patient until they came in contact with the 

 Schneiderian membrane, when they annoyed 

 him greatly, and every effort was made on his 

 part to expel them ; but so soon as expelled, 

 no further trouble was manifested until an- 

 other would get into the nostril. Every effort 

 was made on my part to discover them under 

 the tissue, but the soft palate being destroyed 

 to a great extent, and the palatine arch appa- 

 rently lowered, it was with very much diffi- 

 culty that an examination could be made. 

 The worms were evidently burrowing under 

 the palatine fascia, as it presented a honey- 

 combed appearance and in places patches 

 were totalty destroyed as large as a dime [IS 

 mm.]. They continued to drop from the mouth 

 and nose, forced from the nostrils by the efforts 

 of the patient, for the following forty-eight 

 hours, during which time 227 were counted 

 and the estimated number exceeded 300. At 



tliis time the whole of the soft palate was de- 

 stroyed. The patient lived four days after the 

 last worm came away. 



" I put five of the worms in dry earth and 

 in fourteen days from the time they dropped 

 from the nostril there hatched out three flies. 



" Upon a very minute and careful exami- 

 nation after death, I was astonished to find 

 that all the tissue covering the cervical verte- 

 brae, as far down as I could see by throwing 

 the head back and compressing the tongue, 

 was wholly destroyed and the vertebrae exposed. 

 The palatine bones broke with the slightest 

 pressure of the finger. The os hyoides was 

 destroyed and the nasal bones loose, only held 

 in position by the superficial fascia. 



" My own theory is that the fly deposited 

 the eggs while the patient was asleep, proba- 

 bly the day previous to the peculiar sensation 

 and sneezing first con plained of. At that time 

 they had acquired vitality enough to annoy 

 him while in contact with the sound flesh. So 

 soon as they came in contact with the un- 

 sound flesh, or that affected with the catarrh, 

 being as it must have been gangrenous, they 

 gave no further trouble. " 



" Dr. Britton forwarded to me specimens of 

 the fly, bred as above stated which I identified 

 as Lucilia macellaria Fab. In order, however, 

 that there might be no possibility of error, I 

 submitted them to Dr. S. W. Williston, of 

 New Haven, Conn., who corroborated this de- 

 termination and furnished the following notes 

 concerning the species : " The specimens are 

 evidently Lucilia (Campsomyia) macellaria 

 Fab., a fly common from the Argentine Repu- 

 blic to Canada, and which from its variations 

 has probably received more specific names 

 (20 !) than any other American fly. It belongs 

 to the Muscidoe (true) and is not far from 

 Musca. Their hominivorous propensities have 

 gained for them the synonyms of Lucilia 

 hominirorax Coquerel, and L. hominivorus 

 Cenil (S. America). 



•'< In the Peoria (111.) Medical Monthly for 

 February 1883, Dr. Joshua Richardson, ot Mo- 

 ravia, Iowa, has an article upon " The screw 

 fly and its ravages. " from which I make the 

 following extracts: While travelling in Kan- 

 sas in the latter part of last August a citizen 

 of this place had the misfortune to receive 

 while asleep a deposit of eggs from this fly. 

 He had been troubled for years with catarrh, 

 hence the attraction to the fly. He returned 

 home a few days after the accident and short- 

 ly after began complaining of a bad cold. 



