250 



THE AGWCULTURAL NEWS. 



XOVEMBER 22, 1902. 



POULTRY. 



The following is Mr. J. Barclay's eighth contribu- 

 tion to the series of articles written sjieciaily fur the 

 A(jricaltu ml JS'^civs. It contains practical suggestions 

 for the prevention ami treatment of sonie of thc^ 

 diseases of common occtirrence among jjoultry. His 

 notes on the cause and treatment of Roup will appear 

 in the next issue : — • 



Some forms of sickness will occasioiiiilly occur in tlic best 

 regulated jioultry -yards: in those that are not well regulated, 

 ilhiess will tx'car c>nly too conuiionly. 



PROMPT TP.EATMENT NECESSAP.Y. 



While it is well to know Low to treat derangements of 

 your fowls, it is not wise to trust to that knowledge, or to 

 certain s])ecifics that may be recommended as ' cures,' and 

 allow yourself to be careless in management so that sickness 

 is certain to follow. ISest not to keep fowls at all if you do 

 not intend to take a watchful interest in them, as otiier- 

 wise loss is certain. Fowls may be succes.sfully put right 

 again when they first show symptoms of being out of sorts if 

 the treatment is prompt. If tlie eases arc evidently bad, it is 

 not worth the time to try to cure. The best remedy, the 

 safest in infectious diseases, is the axe ; and the body .should 

 be burned or buried deep at the root of some tree witli lime 

 over it. Prevention is better than cure, and with cleanliness 

 all round, fresh food, and plenty of green stuff, clean water, 

 cool .shade, comfortable housing, and clean soil, tliero can be 

 few troubles. 



1)Is?:asks of fowls. 



The chief diseases are cholera, rouj), (including cankei-, 

 diphtheria, and bronchitis), yaws and gapes. The disorder 

 called cholera liapiiens mostly in the dry weather ; rouj) and 

 gajies occur more in wet weather, and yaws anytime, 

 and chieHy among chickens. Lice are often troublesome and 

 are found mostly in setting liens. Perhaps the trouble that 

 causes the most deaths among poultry in the West indies ^ 

 at least it, is .so in .Jamaica, is cholera (in .Jamaica called 

 'fowl sick'). Any mysterious malady in Jamaica is termed 

 'fowl sick,' l«it the particular disorder, the most deadly 

 and contagious sickness, is what is most conunonly termed in 

 the North, chicken cholera, and is really, I think, enteric 

 fever. 



ENTEUIC FEVER INCl'li.MiLE. 



'fills disease, when taken badly, is quite incuraMi' and 

 is very infectious, and therefore causes a serious loss to those 

 poidtiy keeiiers whose fowls are attacked by it. When it 

 breaks out in a district, luunbers of poultry-yards sutlVr 

 unless measures are promptly taken to stamp it ont. The 

 birds which arc attacked usually die from twuntyfour to 

 forty-eight hours after the germs develop. The excrements 

 are very peculiar in colour, greenish, thin and watery, 

 with a good deal of froth, and before death the Kirds 

 generally go dark about their condis and faces. When 

 opcntil the whole of the intestines are found to be highly 

 inliamed, and the lungs and liver dark and Habby. 



now TO CHECK THE SPREAD OF DISEASE. 



It is not possible to cure birds when once they are- 

 affected with this disease, but when it breaks out in a yard, 

 serious loss may be avoided !)}• ]iromptly killing those birds 

 \\hich .show .symjitoms of the disease, and burying them in 

 [ilenty of lime. The other birds should then lie removed to 

 entirely fresh ground, over which plenty of lime has been 

 thrown. Should any bird ail, it is advisable to kill it at 

 once, also to remove tlio excreujents from the run each 

 morning, as the germs are contained in these, and unless 

 this is done, a serious outbreak cannot be prevented. The 

 l)irds which have been in contact with those which are 

 diseased should have a dose of Ejisom .salts given to them, 

 and two days aftsrwards a teaspoonful of castor oil. They 

 rocpiire nourishing fooil, and i>lenty of fresh water, in which a 

 good-sized piece of camphor has lieen placed. It is alwaj^s 

 advi.sable to disinfect the birds which have been with those 

 .suffering from any di.sease by sprinkling their feathers with a 

 strong solution of disinfectant, and their drinking vessels 

 should be .scalded out with strf)ng soda water. There is no 

 treatment for enteric fever, but if preventive measures are 

 adopted, a good number of birds maj' be saved. 



CAUSE OF DISEASE. 



This disease, as I have said, occurs during, or imme- 

 diately after, long dry spells during which the ground where 

 the fowls congregate together become infected with the 

 excretions, for no matter how long their runs are, they flock 

 together at feeding time and where they roost. When our 

 heavy rains fall the air is puriiied and the .soil and roosting 

 places of fowls on trees washed clean. Fowls allowed to 

 frecpient very filthy dung heaps or pig pens are likely to be 

 attacked by this disease. 



PREVENTIVE MEASURES. 



It is preventable by taking care to shift about to widely 

 ajiart spots when giving the morning and evening ieed ; or 

 where the fowls are confined, by turning over the soil every 

 other day, bit by bit, sy.stematically, after the first two or three 

 shallow diggings going deej) as a fork or .spade will go. The 

 roosting places arc f)ften the deadh" spots. If anyone 

 troubles to examine trees where fowls have been roosting 

 after two or three months dry spell, the cause of di.sea.se 

 needs no further tracing. Where fowls are hou.sed the 

 houses should, in hot, dry weather, be as open and as airy as 

 l)0.ssilile, and be cleaned out every day where there is a largo 

 flock : and every other day where there are only a dozen or 

 so fowls kept. Corn must be fed very sjiaringly, if at all, in 

 hot weather. Peas are better, and dry rice when it can be 

 had cheap is a good change, and most beneficial where 

 cholera is prevalent. 



DEPARTMENT REPORT. 



TRADE OF I'AR.l FOR 1001. Diplomatic and 

 Con^uliir liejiortf. Forcirjii Ojlhy, July 1902. 



The total exports of rubber from t!ie States of Pani and 

 An;.azonas and the ItepuMics of liolivia and Peru during 

 1901 amounted to .'KV''"> tons, of which 14,791 tons were 

 distincil for Europe and |."),o4f< tons for the United States. 

 The total for 1900 was 2.5,S07 tons. The export of rulibcr 

 from Pani was 12,010 tons and the total value .£2,(>.')9,1G0 ; 

 the total value of the export from Pani was .£2,Sl:?,9S0. 

 The total value of the exports for 1900 was je.'),4:{0,G."')S, this 

 year then showing a decrea.se of ,£2,.ySC>,6~i^. The diminished 

 trade is attributed to the crisis of the preceding year, the 

 high rate of exchange and the rivalry of Maniios. 



