DIPTERA. 3s 
these objects when occurring on the horse he is caring for, and colts in 
pasture sometimes become so covered with them as to give a decided 
change in color to the parts most affected. Itis evident that removing 
or destroying these eggs previous to hatching is all that is necessary 
to prevent “bots” in the horse. With horses kept in stables or used 
daily there is little trouble; the flies have less opportunity to deposit 
eggs upon them, and the ordinary grooming of the animal serves to 
remove some of the eggs, or being constantly under observation the eggs 
attract the attention of the person in charge and he removes them, if 
not to prevent bots at least to avoid the unsightly or ill-kept appearance 
they give the animal. With colts or horses in pasture, however, the 
case is very different. Not knowing the currycomb or card through the 
whole summer, and perhaps hardly seen from one week’s end to the 
other, the eggs deposited on them by hundreds have every possible 
chance to transmit larvie to the alimentary canal where they commence 
their growth. During July, August, and September, or as late as eggs 
appear on the horses, those kept in pastures should be examined once 
every two or three weeks and the eggs destroyed or removed. This can 
be accomplished in several ways. By using washes of dilute carbolie 
acid, about one part carbolic acid to thirty parts water, or rubbing the 
affected parts over lightly with kerosene, by clipping the hair or by 
shaving the eggs off with a sharp knife or razor. Our own experience 
leads us to prefer the last. With avery sharp knife or razor (a dull one 
will glide over the eggs) the affected parts can be very quickly run 
over without removing much, if any, of the hair. This method leaves 
no doubt as to whether or not the eggs have been touched, as in washes, 
and subsequent examinations are not complicated by a lot of dead eggs 
or shells. Perform once every two weeks, and there can be very few of 
the larve which gain entrance to the stomach. Will it pay, may natu- 
rally be asked by the man who has, say, from twenty-five to a hundred 
colts in the pasture. Possibly not, if but a single season is considered, 
but the loss of a single horse, or the poor condition of a number, result- 
ing from bots, or the fretting of the whole number in pasture, would 
more than equal all the cost of removing the eggs from the entire lot. 
But when the presence on the farm of the pest year after year is consid- 
ered with all its attendant evils, we believe most emphatically that it 
will pay. 
Quite frequently the flies will be observed at work depositing eggs 
on the legs or body of a horse at work or in carriage. If not noticed 
at once the nervous stamping, biting, or often greater excitement of 
the horse will apprise the driver of their presence. Although the flies 
are pretty wary and dart away when approached, a few seconds’ watch-. 
ing will enable one, by striking them down to the ground with hand or 
hat, to capture and kill the fly and thus stop the deposition of eggs 
and annoyance to the horse. Whether the larve of this species can 
mature except upon gaining access to earth seems not to have been 
determined, and for all the time the horses are in the field or on the 
