KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



355 



invariably places the eggs on those parts of 

 the horse's body which are within reach of 

 his tongue. After four or five days, these ' 

 eggs are ready to produce the young worm ' 

 upon the smallest application of heat ; so that 

 when the horse licks that part of the skin on 

 which they are deposited, the eggs readily j 

 open. Small active worms issue forth, and 

 clinging to the moist surface of the tongue, 

 they are carried with the food into the , 

 animal's stomach. Here, in a heat far sur- j 

 passing that of our warmest climate, these 

 worms attain their full size; and on this taking 

 place, they detach themselves from the hold j 

 they had taken within the animal, and are j 

 voided by it. They then seek some con- j 

 venient situation and assume the pupae state, 

 and, after six or seven weeks, appear in the 

 form of a fly. 



There are no fewer than five species which 

 form the torment of horses, and trouble the 

 short repose allowed to this noble animal. 

 In Germany, the grooms make use of a par- 

 ticular kind of brush, with which they cleanse 

 the mouths and throats of the horses, and 

 thus free them from these troublesome 

 insects before they are carried into the 

 stomach. 



One species of gad-fly to which the horse 

 is subject, always deposits its eggs on the Zips 

 of the animal, and is even more distressing 

 to him than those we have just described. It 

 perseveres in its attempts, notwithstanding 

 all the efforts made to avoid it ; and it often 

 hides in the grass till the horse is grazing 

 tranquilly, when it fastens on the desired 

 situation. 



GAD-FLIES OF THE OX, SHEEP, AND DEER. 



At certain seasons, the whole terrified herd, 

 with their tails in the air, or turned upon 

 their backs, or stiffly stretched out in the 

 direction of the spine, gallop about the 

 pastures, making the country re-echo with 

 their lowings, and finding no rest till they get 

 into the water. Their appearance and 

 motions are at this time so grotesque, clumsy, 

 and seemingly unnatural, that we are tempted 

 rather to laugh at the poor beasts than to 

 pity them, though evidently in a situation of 

 great terror and distress. The cause of all 

 this restlessness and agitation is, a small gad- 

 fly (CEstrus bovis), less than the horse bee ; 

 the object of which, though it be not to bite 

 them, but merely to oviposit in their hides, 

 is not put into execution without giving them 

 considerable pain. 



This fly has been minutely described by 

 Reaumur, who affirms that, in depositing the 

 egg, the insect bores a small hole in the skin 

 of the ox, by means of a singular organ of a 

 horny texture, somewhat resembling an augur 

 or gimlet. Mr. Bracy Clark does not admit 

 this to be the case, but, after close exami- 



nation, states that the parent insect merely 

 glues the eggs to the hair of the animal, as 

 in the case of the horse-bee ; and that it is not 

 till the living insects appear that the puncture 

 is made. These larvae are called warbles or 

 wurmals ; and after they have burrowed into 

 the skin, they form around themselves bumps 

 or protuberances on the back of the ox, where 

 they enjoy an equal degree of warmth, are 

 protected from inclement weather, and remain 

 till they arrive at maturity, with an abundant 

 supply of food within reach. These tumors 

 vary in number on the animal, from three or 

 four to thirty or forty. The cattle most 

 covered with them are not disesteemed by 

 the farmer, for it is on young and healthy 

 subjects that they are chiefly found. The 

 tanners also prefer those hides which contain 

 the greatest number of bot-holes (as they are 

 commonly called), as being the best and 

 strongest. The situation of the tumors is 

 generally near the spine, but sometimes upon 

 the thighs and shoulders. The largest of 

 them are nearly an inch and a half in dia- 

 meter at the base, and about an inch high ; 

 they can scarcely be perceived during sum- 

 mer, but in winter attain their full size. 



The attack of the fly is attended with some 

 danger, when the oxen are employed in agri- 

 cultural work ; for, whether in harness or 

 yoked to the plough, they become unmanage- 

 able, and run directly forward. 



Nor are our flocks exempt from the annoy- 

 ance of the gad-fly. Sheep are sometimes 

 observed, in the heat of the day, to shake 

 their heads, and strike the ground violently 

 with their fore-feet ; or they will run away 

 to dusty spots, ruts, or gravel-pits, where, 

 crowding together, they hold their noses close 

 to the ground. This is with a view to rid 

 themselves of the fly (CEstrus bovis), and to 

 prevent its entering its nostrils, where it lays 

 its eggs around the inner margin. When 

 the larvae issue from the eggs, they make 

 their way into the head ; and when full-grown, 

 they fall through the nostrils to the ground, 

 and assume the pupa state. We have no 

 means of knowing whether the sheep suffers 

 much pain from these insects ; but, from the 

 strange freaks it occasionally performs, 

 when infested by them, there is reason to 

 suppose that they have, to say the least, a 

 teasing and irritating effect. Sometimes the 

 maggot makes its way even into the brain. 



The fallow-deer, according to Reaumur, 

 are subject to the attack of two species of 

 gad-fly; one of which deposits its eggs in the 

 same manner as that of the ox, so as to pro- 

 duce tumors ; the other, like that of the 

 sheep, so that its larvae can make their way 

 into the head. There is a curious notion 

 prevalent among the hunters respecting these 

 two species. Believing both insects to be of 

 the same kind, they imagine that they mine 



