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“ It is curious how our forest ponies go on to the top of the rising 
ground where there is a breath of wind,” to protect “themselves out 
in the full sun, for the flies don’t like the wind, and are always 
most troublesome in sheltered places.” 
Somewhat similarly to the above observation, Dr. Brauer notes 
some of the flies being frequenters of raised meadow ground, though 
not the summits of mountains. 
Of the Great Ox Gad Fly (Tabanus bovinus), we well know that 
the flies torment cattle, and the grubs are to be found feeding 
beneath the surface in pasture land. The localities of other larvae 
are recorded as being very various ; they may be in wholly dry 
ground, as a corn field for instance, in pasture land as before 
noticed, in damp earth, or under decaying vegetable matter in 
damp places, or as swimming about in numbers in water, and also 
to be found in accumulations of various kinds of fly grubs in leaves, 
&c., over mud. 
Of available methods of prevention, some which are recommended 
keep the flies off, either by giving a slight protection, or by their 
continual movement. One of these arrangements is a net thrown 
over the animal, the edge being bordered by a fringe of twine, 
which by its perpetual movement keeps away attack. Sometimes 
the fringe alone is used, this being fastened to the reins on each 
side, and sometimes a bit of cloth tied over the head with a fringe 
hanging down over the eyes is employed. 
A sample of this kind of headgear, which I was favoured with 
by Messrs. Hart, of Calcutta (Vet. Surgeons to the Viceroy and 
Governor General of India), as being of great service to keep off the 
virulent attacks of House Flies (Musca domestica ), otherwise coming 
in legions to infest the eyes of the horses, would in all probability 
answer equally in the present case, so far as the head was con¬ 
cerned. The head-dress was simply a fringe about thirteen inches 
long by nine and a half deep, and was formed of about seventy-six 
hanging strands of white cord, each strand about an eight of an 
inch across. These were secured to a heading about an inch in 
width, which, though very firm, and thick and durable, was quite 
flexible, so as not to hurt the horse, and even when placed 
experimentally on the human skin, was no annoyance when placed 
on the forehead for the fringe to hang over the eyes. 
A loop was left at one end of the fringe, and two ends at the 
other, to secure the apparatus in its place, and each strand of the 
fringe was not cut at the end (which would have allowed it to 
become “ fuzzy ”), but the twine was doubled up on itself so as to 
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