766 
INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS. 
public the various communications that I received from 
General Hawkes and Veterinary-Surgeon W. S. Adams. 
The last-named gentleman dissected several of the elephants 
which perished in the epizooty of Secunderabad in 
1874—75. In this connection I must likewise ac¬ 
knowledge my indebtedness to Mr. Frederick Smith for 
an opportunity to examine masuri and soorti ( Ascarides ) 
taken from elephants that died at Sanger’s Circus in this 
country. Without prejudice to the legal question (as to 
et soundness” at the time of purchase) I have no hesitation in 
expressing my belief that the animals perished from the 
injurious action of these parasites. Mr. Steel and myself 
examined the carcass of one of the elephants with great 
care, when we found the amphistomes perfectly fresh and of a 
bright rose color. 
From outside the ranks of the veterinary profession I 
have received a vast number of communications relating to 
diseases of the horse ; but as it is neither possible nor de¬ 
sirable for me to attempt to do justice to them here, I will 
only add that in addition to the eye-worms transmitted by 
Veterinary-SurgeonHammond, Madras Army,byMr. Spooner 
Hart, by Mr. Haydon Leggett, of Luton, Bedfordshire, and 
others, I also received an example from the Rev. Horace 
Waller, of Zambesi fame. This was removed from a horse 
in Assam, where the parasite is very common. Lastly, the 
mention of these eye-worms recalls to my mind an alleged 
curious instance of parasitism in the brain of the horse, 
for the particulars of which I stand indebted to Mr. 
William Shipley, of Great Yarmouth. The facts are sup¬ 
ported by the evidence of two other practitioners. All I 
can venture to assert is that the entozoon sent to me for 
identification was certainly the larva of a species of Hy- 
poderma, very similar to another species ( H . Loiseti ) 
which a distinguished pupil, Mr. Percy Gregory, had 
removed from beneath the skin. The maggot in Mr. Ship¬ 
ley’s case was found embedded in the choroid plexus, my 
informant being positively “ certain that it was there during 
the life of the animal.” 
Having said thus much in reference to the parasitic dis¬ 
orders of the horse, you will not expect me to dwell with 
equal emphasis on the helminthiases of other animals. Did 
time permit I should be quite willing to say something in 
reference to those disastrous epizootics, severally and more 
familiarly known by the names of “husk” and “lamb dis¬ 
ease.” I beg you to bear in mind, however, that my 
present object is not to make a scientific communication for the 
