"The eggs of this species are difficult to be seen upon the horse's skin or beard, owing to the agitation of the beast, and from the color of the egg being dark like that of the skin of the horse. The animal has been generally too impatient, while undergoing this operation, to let me examine them very well. I ascertained, however, its form by pressing one of these eggs from the abdomen.
"The larva or grub of this species inhabits the stomach as the former, generally adhering to the white lining, and is disposed promiscuously in dense clusters, after the same manner; they may, however, be distinguished from them by being in general smaller and longer in proportion to their bulk.
"The larva of this species may be obtained from almost any horse that has been much the preceding year at grass, and exposed to these flies, and will be found during the summer months sticking more or less within the verge or opening of the anus, adhering to its soft lining, and producing considerable irritation and uneasiness. Indeed, I once well remember being on a tour of pleasure in the Isle of Wight, and experiencing much annoyance from these larvæ. The little horse I had hired for the journey became so lazy and unwilling to go on, and moved so awkwardly, that I could not keep pace with my company, and I was at a loss how to proceed; but on casually taking up the tail, I discovered three or four of these insects hanging to the rectum, and their removal instantly proved a cure."
For more ample particulars, the reader is referred to the book itself, which is entitled "AN ESSAY ON BOTS IN THE HORSE AND OTHER ANIMALS." It will, in the pages of the original work, be seen that Mr. Clark more than suspected the existence of other species of the same family; but, as no positive knowledge has yet been gained, we must await patiently the inquiries of those to whom this branch of science belongs.
However, the writer must dissent to Mr. Clark's conclusion, that "bots are harmless, if not beneficial." How far does such a supposition agree with the perforated stomach, preserved at the Royal Veterinary College? How far does it accord with the ragged coat and unthrifty aspect by which the presence of the parasites is ascertained? How, when crediting such a conjecture, are we to account for the horror exhibited by the horse at the approach of the fly; and how can we interpret Mr. Clark's experience in the Isle of Wight?
Bots are known to be injurious; healthy bodies are seldom troubled with parasites. The parched and innutritions grass of the summer's heat cannot support the life accustomed to artificially saved and carefully prepared food. It is the meanness of the master which dooms the slave to starvation; he begrudges the keep of the animal, therefore, he disguises the ugliness of his feeling under a pretense of giving the horse a month's freedom and its natural food! In spring, when the herbage is young, one hour night and morning might be excused; but those hours must be before the flies are up, and after these pests are asleep. In the height of summer, when the grass has perished and the ground is hard, the health soon yields to constant exposure and to unwholesome food. The flies torment the animal, and from the shed it is often driven by its companions in the field. A large portion of the accidents which horses are liable to, occur while out at grass; many an animal is released from the stable blooming and valuable; it is, at the expiration of the month, brought home looking ragged, with a huge belly, and is never fit for a day's service subsequently. If the matter is to be regarded only in a money point of view, it would have been a saving to the owner to have paid a twelvemonth's keep, rather than lose his servant, and notwithstanding, afterward have to pay for food and treatment till experience had instructed him in the inutility of expecting restoration. But when the matter is considered in a moral sense, what right has that individual who has, for his own pleasure, accustomed a life to a particular form of diet, at his will, or for his convenience, to snatch the food from the creature and drive it forth to gnaw at stalks which had shed their seeds, and to be exposed to all the variations of the season? It is no excuse to talk about there being no work to be done while the master is at the sea-side; the devotion of a life should have earned a brief support, and the gentleman whose avarice thinks otherwise has no just reason to complain of the punishment which the indulgence of his greed will probably insure.
CHRONIC HEPATITIS.
Acute hepatitis is unknown among horses in England. The late Professor Sewell thought he had witnessed one case. Other people know they have not seen a single instance of such a disease.
Chronic hepatitis is peculiar to maturity. Brewers' horses—huge animals, fattened upon refuse of the mash-tub, and which are paraded, in all the pride of obesity, drawing one small cask over the stones of London—are often attacked by this malady. All horses which consume much provender, without absolute regard to work, are exposed to it. Gentlemen's carriage horses are very liable to it. A private vehicle is started, and at first much used; but after a time it is equally neglected. The individual does not want the carriage to-day, when the coachman comes round "for orders." Neither is it required on the next occasion. Often a week passes without the fashionable plaything being uncovered. The animals, during that time, depend on the groom for exercise. The coachman may be fond of his horses, and, in his ignorance, may think they cannot have too much rest, or himself too little work. Let the master neglect his duty, and the servant soon follows the example.
The word "duty" was employed in the last sentence. It is of an unpleasant signification, and was used in its harshest sense. Kings owe a duty to their subjects; the rich owe a duty to the poor. All authority has some obligation connected with it. There is nothing like perfect freedom in this world of dependence. Man is the king over living things. He may claim his rights, but he at the same time must adopt the weight of his office: he cannot assume the one and discard the other. A monarch is invested with dominion and authority over men; but the stability of the throne is dependent upon the righteousness of the ruler. If he who wears the crown abuses his trust, he may possess "a right divine," but he is speedily without subjects. So, if man is unjust to the creatures ever which he is placed, nature snatches them from his grasp; and he may be invested with every power, but he soon wants animals upon which to exercise it.