HORSE BOT FLY. 
71 
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The following communication with which I was favoured by Mr. 
Hy. Thompson, is to the same effect. He observed that the young 
Bot maggots “are carried into the stomach with food and the secretions 
of the mouth and deposited on the anterior or cuticular portion of the 
stomach. 
“ The stomach of the Horse has two linings, one half is cuticular, 
the other villous, or true digestive portion. I have seen a large number 
of cases but never saw the Bots attached to villous portion. Possibly 
the gastric juice (hydrochloric acid) is too strong, and destroys them 
in this portion before they become attached ? Again, where the Bots 
are attached, the parts or walls of the stomach are thickened. 
“I have never seen the stomach entirely perforated, but the 
irritation induced by the development of the larva causes in many 
cases a great wasting of flesh in the Horse. 
“ I know of no medicine that will destroy them, or make them leave 
their winter quarters until fully developed. A good feed of grass in 
early spring induces them to detach themselves the soonest, but I am 
inclined to think the larva will hold on till fully developed before 
leaving. 
“As a medicine, 2 ozs. turpentine and 20 ozs. of raw linseed oil 
mixed, and given as a draught once a fortnight is the best remedy; 
i. e., if it is thought the loss of flesh and condition of the Horse is due to 
the presence of Bots.”—(H. T.) 
In offering the above paper I have done so with some hesitation, 
as being quite outside my regular work on crop infestations. But 
some information about this attack has been so much wished for by 
those who have no opportunity of consulting standard works on the 
subject, that to the best of my power I have described the life-history 
of the insect (with which I am necessarily well acquainted). On the 
internal points so often erroneously thought to show great injury, I 
have ventured to lay before my readers the opinion of two well known 
veterinary surgeons. To those who desire further information, I 
believe I could give any details required, bearing simply on the life- 
history of the insect itself; the anatomical and veterinary points they 
would doubtless gain all information on from their veterinary 
advisers. 
