places the leg enlarges to two or three times its normal diameter, This pest is readily communicated from fowl to fowl, hence the wisdom of destroying it wherever found. The treatment is to stand the bird in a pail of warm water, and allow the scales to soak up thoroughly, then carefully scrape off the crusts without making the legs bleed, after which wipe dry and apply carbolated vaseline once daily. Crude petroleum is very effective in mild cases. In bad cases it may be necessary to repeat the treatment, but ordinarily one soaking and frequent applications of vaseline will soon effect a cure. The treatment should be started on the first sign of trouble.

Depluming Mites.-These are minute insects which live on the fowl, taking up their abode at the base of the quills, which they consume or damage so that the feathers subsequently fall out. If the condition persists, the feathers around the neck and head may all drop out. Treatment consists in rubbing crude petroleum or carbolated vaseline frequently into the parts of the skin infested.

Mosquitoes, where common, often do considerable damage to poultry. In South Jersey, near the coast, the writer has noted extensive damage resulting from mosquitoes biting the combs and faces of fowls, especially during damp weather. The punctures, which are made by the mouth of the insect, seem to offer exceptionally favorable places for the development of chicken pox, the infection easily getting a foothold and spreading in all directions. Where mosquitoes are so thick as to do damage as outlined, a preventive measure to eliminate the danger from chicken pox is to saturate the air in the roosting quarters with a two or three per cent solution of xenoleum at night when the birds are on the perches. This carbolated preparation acts as a disinfectant.

Internal Parasites.-There are two groups of internal parasites which embrace nearly all the types of economic importance,namely, (1) parasites which find their way into the trachea of the bird and (2) intestinal parasites.

The first group is represented by the gapeworm (Fig. 214), found only in little chicks, which when affected will stand around with drooping wings, gasping for breath. Gapeworms are little, reddish worms which fasten themselves on the wall of the trachea and suck blood from its mucous lining, causing inflammation. They are about half an inch in length, and may become so numerous as almost to stop the breathing. The disease is especially prevalent in the spring, the infection being transmitted in the soil from one

year to another. If the parasites are known to exist, the best procedure is to plow the ground and lime it thoroughly. Do not use it for young chicks for a year or two-not until some crop has been grown upon it, and the ground worked over considerably. When only a few chicks are affected, the worms can be extracted with a horsehair loop or commercial extractor.

FIG. 214. The gapeworm, Syngamus trachealis, of young chicks, attached to the inside of the trachea. A serious handicap to successful brooding when the soil becomes infested.

Intestinal Worms.-Internal parasites are represented by two distinct kinds of intestinal worms, known as roundworm and tapeworm. The former are round, smooth worms (Fig. 215), tapering at each end, pointed in front and blunt in the rear. They derive their nourishment from the feed, and, if present in large numbers,

When present in large

greatly impair the nutrition of the bird, perhaps interfering with digestion and causing obstruction.

The best treatment is to give some drug which will cause them to loosen their hold on the lining of the intestine, and to follow this up with a laxative to expel them. For individual fowls one teaspoonful of oil of turpentine may be given one hour before feeding in the morning, and three hours later one teaspoonful of castor oil.

The tapeworm (Fig. 216) represents the second type of intestinal parasites. If present in any number, they will be very detrimental to the flock, making the birds emaciated and weak and causing the feathers to lose their lustre. The treatment outlined for roundworms will also be beneficial with tapeworms. Frequent feeding

FIG. 216.-The tapeworm.

When tapeworms are present in any numbers they greatly impair the efficiency of the birds.

of onions or garlic is said to be a preventive, and powdered pomegranate-root bark, at the rate of one teaspoonful to fifty birds, will help to expel them.

ENEMIES OF POULTRY.

There are predatory animals which, if given a chance or if they have once acquired the habit, will do great damage by killing poultry. Losses from this source may amount to a very high figure. The rat probably ranks first as an enemy, killing a great number of young and growing chicks each year. Concrete floors and runs protected by fine-mesh wire are the best means of keeping them away.

Weasels and skunks also delight in killing birds and robbing nests wherever they find them, the weasel preying on growing chicks on the range during the day. Traps and the shotgun are here the best preventives. Steel traps placed in common runways or in special openings under fences will result in their capture.

Crows and some varieties of hawks carry off both young and adult birds. The crow is particularly adept in stealing young chicks. He usually alights on some tall pole or post in the vicinity of the chicken yard before swooping down for his prey. One of the best and surest ways of catching him is to place small steel

traps on the tops of some of the tallest poles in the vicinity, and he will soon be a captive. When killed and hung up in the centre of the plant, he serves as a warning to keep others away.

With poultry plants located in the immediate vicinity of large centres of population, there is increased danger of theft. Appreciating this fact, the great majority of commercial poultry men keep well-trained watch dogs about the plant. In some cases they run at large; in others, they may be chained to their houses, or probably the best practice is to have them located about the border of the plant on long wire trolleys, which will allow them to cover a considerable area. Many poultry breeders are dog breeders as well, often getting a considerable revenue from this side-line.

REVIEW.

1. What is fundamental to a practical knowledge of poultry diseases? 2. Under what conditions is it desirable to treat diseased poultry?

3. When is it not desirable to treat diseased poultry?

4. Discuss prevention as compared with curing.

5. Give three factors essential in maintaining a healthy flock.

6. Define the word hygiene as used in this chapter.

7. What three practices are essential to insure clean houses?

8. Give the composition of a complete disinfecting solution, and tell of its effects.

9. Discuss the effects of sunlight and of moisture in their relation to a sanitary and hygienic house.

10. Discuss clean feeding.

11. What is the best practice to guarantee clean yards?

12. Describe the external appearances of sickness, associated with many disorders.

13. Give external symptoms of roup; tuberculosis; chicken pox; gapes.

14. Outline method of making a post-mortem examination.

15. Name five common poultry medicines; state method of use and effect.

16. Name four common external parasites of poultry.

17. Describe the effects of body lice.

18. Describe a good method of spraying fowls for lice. What is used?

19. Give the composition of a reliable, homemade powder for destroying lice.

20. Describe the chicken mite and his manner of attack.

21. Tell how to keep down the ravages of mites.

22. What is meant by scaly legs? How can the trouble be cured?

23. Are mosquitoes ever injurious to poultry? What are the effects?

24. Describe and give method of combating two common intestinal parasites

of poultry.

25. Tell how to control the gapeworm.

26. Name common diseases of the digestive system.

27. Give a list of diseases of the hen's reproductive organs.

28. What diseases affect the respiratory system?

29. When is it desirable to practise poultry surgery?

30. Describe the procedure in treating cuts and wounds.

31. What is bumble foot? Give its cause.

32. How would you treat a frozen comb?

33. Mention predaceous enemies of poultry, and tell how to control each.

References.-Poultry Diseases and their Treatment, by Pearl, Surface, and Curtis, Maine Bulletin. Fowl Typhoid, by Cooper Curtice, Rhode Island Bulletin 87. Tapeworm Disease of Fowls, by Gage and Opperman, Maryland Bulletin 139. Tuberculosis in Fowls, by A. R. Ward, California Bulletin 161. Common Diseases of Fowls, their Control and Treatment, by F. D. Chester, Delaware Bulletin 47. Chicken Pox or Sore Head in Poultry, by C. A. Cary, Alabama Bulletin 136. Diseases of Chickens, by H. J. Milks, Louisiana Bulletin 108. Lice and Mites of Poultry, by Nathan Banks, U. S. Bureau of Entomology Circular 92. Tuberculosis, Fowl Cholera, Chicken Pox, and Roup, California Report, 1903. Asthenia (growing light in fowls), by Chas. F. Dawson, U. S. Bureau of Animal Industry Report 15. Some Common Disinfectants, by M. Dorset, U. S. Farmers' Bulletin 345. Gapes in Poultry, by H. Garman, Kentucky Bulletin 70. Causes of Death in Young Chickens, by C. K. Graham, Connecticut Bulletin 44. How to Destroy Rats, by D. E. Lantz, U.S. Farmers' Bulletin 369. Disinfection and Commercial Disinfectants, by Ravenall and Smith, Wisconsin Bulletin 156. Infectious Diseases among Poultry, by D. E. Salmon, U. S. Bureau of Animal Industry Bulletin 8. Healthy Poultry, in U. S. Farmers' Bulletin 305. Lice on Poultry, in U. S. Farmers' Bulletin 435. Fowl Cholera, by A. R. Ward, California Bulletin 156. Fowl Cholera, by P. B. Hadley, Rhode Island Bulletin 144. Avian Coccidiosis, by P. B. Hadley, Rhode Island Bulletin. The Chicken Mite, Mississippi Bulletin 78. Tuberculosis, by E. F. Pemot, Oregon Bulletin 64. Diseases of Chickens, by E. F. Pemot, Oregon Reading Course Bulletin 4. The Common Chicken Mite, by H. C. Pierce, Iowa Press Bulletin 19.