362 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



November U, 190S. 



INSECT NOTES. 



Lice and Mites on Poultry. 



Poultry are freijuently supposed to Ix- suH'erins; 

 from some disease when their ill health is really due 

 to the abundance of lice or mites which arc infesting 

 them. Ordinarily, the fowls by squatting in a hole in 

 the ground, and scratching the dust around their 

 bodies, are able to keep the jiarasites in check. But in 

 the case of sitting hens the insects increase to an 

 enormous extent, and tlie chickens on being hatched 

 out are at the mercy of these parasites. 



T.ICE. 



Lice are more luuiiernus tliaii the Miitcs, lnu they are 

 le.ss injuriciu.s, a.s they are not blood-sucking by nature. The 

 lice are urovided with short-tf)othed jaws with which they 

 bite citi' tile epidermal scales and the edges of the featlieis. The 

 (■laws of their feet are very sharp an<l l)y tiie process of 

 (■ontinual scratching on the skin of tlie hust, n supply of 

 blood is procured liy the parasite, and unim this it feeds. 

 Poultry do not suffer from loss of blood, but from nervous 

 exhaustion due to the continual biting off of their scales, 

 wliiU' the pricks from the claws of the insects often result in 

 ulcerations. 



The ccmunon hen Imisc ( .l/< »/</«<» imll nlmn) is an 

 insect which is j)ale dull yellow in colour.,, with lateral darker 

 marks, but at times aft.T feeding the colour liiay be of 

 a pinkisli tint. The length is ..\; inch ; its ln'ad is broad ami 

 rounded in front. The in.-^ect is wingless. 



The adult louse is very active, wandering <-cntiiuially 

 <i\cr the skin. The eggs or ' nits ' are small, elongate, oval 

 objecis, and are attached at the broader c'lid to thi' feathers. 

 The young in.sects, produced from the eggs, are nuich smaller 

 than the adult, and they I'eniain close to the body of the 

 ho.st until they reach maturity, which takes from two to three 

 weeks under conditions favouralilc to then- di-\ i-lo|.|in'nt 

 iSucli coMditions are a damp and dirty state of ilie lowls' 

 body. 



Iicmcdies for lice on fowls : — (1) Saturate sawdust with 

 naphthalene and place beneath the nest of si'tting liens. (2) I )ip 

 tlie hens in an infusion of tobacco, tnade by boiling tobaceo 

 steni.s, leaves, etc. for fifteen nuiHites. (.'i) l''nniigalc the hen 

 house with sulphur two or three times, allowing ten days to 

 elapse between each ojieiation so as to kill the new ly hatched 

 paiasites. 



Mcriis. 



Tile cliicki'ii mil<' ( l)i iiiiniii/iixiix (/iilliiitf , lledi.) is 

 elliptical anil r;ither Hatteiud in shape, and about .'.inch 

 long. The colour is pale .grey with darkci- s[)ots, l>ut after feed- 

 ing it bei'omes reddish. It has eight sleniji'i', tapering legs, 

 :i p.dr of palpi in front, and a pair of needle like mandibles, 

 with which it pidcurcs its food. 



The adult nifither lays her small eggs in dirty crevices of 

 llie lien house. The young hatch in two or tlirec> (lay>. and 

 when born, are whitisli in colour, oval in shape, and have 

 but six legs. 



At first they feed on tilth, but wlien ohler attack the 

 fhickens. After feeding a few days, they molt and apjicar 



with eight legs. They do not remain on the poultry all the 

 time, but usually ;only long enough to feed and are most 

 active at night. 



The chicken mite is parasitic on all kinil> <if poultry 

 except pigeons, although they attack horses and even man. 

 The mite found ujion pigeons is a distinct species. Remedies 

 for mites are : — (l.| Keep the poultry in a clean, dry house 

 with [ilenty of sijnlight. (2) Whitewash the inside of the 

 house, adding 4 o/,. of crude carbolic acid to every gallon 

 of wash, and repeat after four days. (3) Sjiray witlt 

 kerosene emulsion. (To make this, .shave A ft. of hard 

 soap into 1 gallon of soft water and boil until the soap is 

 dissolved ; remove the mixture from the fire and stir into it 2 

 gallons of kerosene oil). Dilute this stock mixture with 

 10 parts of soft water and apply as a spray or with a brush. 

 Repeat this application twice at intervals of four days. 



The ' itch mite ' {Cneinlddcoptes Mutanx, Robin) is the 

 cause of ' scaly leg.' This parasite burrows in the skin of the 

 leg.s, comb, and neck, causing an intense itching and forming 

 a crust of loosened tissue above the ])laces where it has 

 burrowed. A good remedy is to bathe the infe.sted j)arts in 

 warm, soapy water and then apply suljihur ointment. 



The 'depluming mite' (Ciii-iiiiihiroj,trx i/a/liiiae. Hail.) 

 burrows near the base of the feathers, and the itching induces 

 the hen tt> [jluck her feathers in her attempt to stop the 

 irritation. 



EGG-LAYING COMPETITION. 



A few det.iils as to the results of an eeg-laying 

 competition wiiicji was held at the Roseworthy Agri- 

 cultural College, South Australia, from April 1, 1!K)7, 

 to March 31, liiOS, may not be witiiout interest. 



Tile nund)er of j)eiis competing was seventy-five, 

 each [ten containing six birds,so that the tot.il number 

 of birds engaged in the c-ompetition was 4.50. These 

 bir(ls together |)roduced iS0,!>.59 eggs, or an average of 

 170!t per head. Tlie highest number of eggs laid l>y 

 .•my pen was ],o31, these being produced by six White 

 Leghorns, while the greatest number laid by any given 

 bird (also a White J^eyhorn), was 2.55. The total cost 

 of the food (;onsumed during the year by the 450 hens 

 was £120 IS.v. .5'/.,-this being an average cost of Ij*/. 

 per hen per week, or os. 4'/. per hen per year. Since 

 the averasre v.due of the esjirs laid dtirincr tlic vcar was 

 ll.^•. S(/. per hen, it will be seen that poultry of the 

 type included in the competition gave a return of over 

 100 [lor cent, profit on the food consumed. The White 

 IjOghorn breed undoubtedly did best in the competition 

 taking the first nirin jil.ices, and showing uj) '.veil tiiiough- 

 out. ()th(U' breeds notable for their good laying power 

 were Silver and White Wyandottes, and Black 

 ( )r].ingtons. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 

 Mr. .lolin 1!. Bo\ell, l.S.tJ., Agricultural Superin- 

 tendent of HarbiidoSfWho has recently been in Englaiul 

 on leave of absence since June 2 last, returned to the 

 island by tlie U. M. S. ' Orinoco ' on November 10, and 

 lias lesunu'd his <ltities. 



Mi-. W. N. S.mds. Agrii-tiltural Superintendent of 

 St. \'incent, who has bei'n on leave of absence since 

 May l.S last, also returned by the 'Orinoco.' 



