The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1870-05-07
.Tarm-@arnrn DousrboIo.
EOs.I'lieS.


In a recent number of the Prairie Am.
inquiry was made concerning the yellow nits
which are found upon the hair ON the lore Ioas
OF horses, The question was briefly answered
Ia lhe editorial notes; but perhaps a more par
tcu.af account or them and of the insects they
Ptoouce, and OF the wonderful instinct thew ex.
hioi' IN providing for the continuance of their
'aG re, may be interesting to many readers.
ilefe are many kinds of BOTTLES, (constitut-
,ng the family GStriiG,) all of which pass their
i"i',e or grub state in the bodies of herbiverous
quadrupeds They are well known to inhabit
tAe morse, the ass, the OK, the sheep and the
deer; and they have also been found in the
fhllnI,oceros, the rabbit and the badger
IhIee knds Of BOTTLES infest the horse One
rays Is legs on the lips; another under the
tLroat' and the third on the fore legs The last
Is huth the most common, and the only one of
any practical importance. The female deposits
her eggs or nits whilst on the wing, attaching
tAe'a 20 the hairs, one by one, by means of con.
lcal tube at the end Of her abdomen So persist.
eni Is she that though repeatedly knocked down.
II not actually crippled, she will as often return
10 the task. Her touch is slight in perform.
ing this operation, that the horse would not be
conscious OF her presence II he did not hear the
ouzzing of her wings. Yet he exhibits great
alarm at her approach, probably confoundiny
the 5ot-Hy with the horse-aies, (IaJaatdcpl which
iniiict sharp wound. The horse licks off these
NIT, whether by accident or by special instinct
II Is difficult to tell, and swallows them. They
hatch in the stomach and produce footless grubs
which attach themselves 10 the coats of the
stomach by means OF two little hooks, one on
each side OF the mouth, and here they adhere,
drawing their nutriment from the juices OF the
stomach TIL they arrive at their full growth
when they loosen their hold and are carried
along with the contents of the bowels and are
hnally discharged. They then burIow few
inches into the earth, change TO pupa, and in
periods varying much according to temperature,
emerge III the perfect or winged form. 1t is
possible that those which enter the earth in the
fall may pass the winter in the chrysals state
1t i disputed question whether bots injure
horses. All horses which run at pasture in the
summer undoubtedly have bots in their stom.
achs' let so few suffer any apparent inconve.
nlelcc from them that it becomes q question
Whether they are ever in urious. II they are 30
II EN- be only in very rare cases. where they ex.
list IN unusual numbers Mr.. Bracy Clark, who
was one Of the first and most elaborate writers
upon these insects, and who had had large ex.
perience as a veterinary surgeon, held the opin.
Ion that they are actually useful by assisting di.
gestIJn. There is no doubt that most If not all
the deaths Of horses attributed TO bots, have
been produced by collie, or some other disease;
and as We have seen, the discovery Of bots in the
stomach. after death proves nothing to the con.
trary. We have heard Of more than one case in
which it wa. SAID that the stomachs of horses
which had been supposed TO have died from bots,
and which had been examined after death, were
found full OF holes. But the statement rested
on no good authority. 1, is true that the bot
grub = furnished with pair Of teeth or nandi.
bles but they very small aud straight, and
not shaped like the mandibes Of gnawiny in
scots. Besides, IT is evident that il is not the
nature Of these insects 10 suos-t by gnawiny
the stomach, but simply by imbibing it. secrs.
tions, and perhaps also the fluid contents Of the
stomach by which they are surrounded.
II 1t be thought necessary, the ni,s can be
scrapet OF with II knife. washed off by re-.
peated applications of ho. soap and water, or
they could undoubtedly be destroyed much more
expe.ltiously by wetting with spirits of turpen-
tine. or kerosene oil.-DR W LIZ BARON. in
Prdtrie Ejvaer.