RURAL ECONOMICS. 689 



conditions wliicli discourage tlie growth of many harmless and harmful species 

 which the bird can not exclude readily. 



"The absence of large numbers of obligatory anaerobes of the B. putrifictts 

 tyve would indicate that the intestinal conditions in the healthy domestic fowl 

 are not inducive for anaerobiosis. 



" Chickens reared under sanitary conditions do not harbor many animal 

 organisms. In several subjects in the best of health Euglena and Paramecium 

 caudatum were found by examinations of fresh preparations. Heterakis 

 worms and tapeworms are found in healthy birds, but their presence must be 

 looked upon as indicative of some unsanitary condition in the poultry yards. 

 They may cause intestinal lesions, which may later be the starting point of more 

 serious infections. Tapeworms in small numbers, according to observations 

 made after death, do not appear to cause serious pathological effects. 



" The presence of Cladothrix asteroides in the intestinal mucosa has not 

 in any instance appeared to be pathogenic for the domestic fowl in any stages 

 of its life." 



Is it tuberculosis? — An important question, G. B. Morse (Rel. Poultry 

 Jour., 18 {1911), No. 6, pp. 778, 828, 8<ii)). — ^As a result of examining the caseous 

 matter present within the lids of a roupy black Minorca fowl it was found to 

 contain numerous acid-fast bacilli, which, however, were not alcohol acid-fast 

 and were not morphologically characteristic of the bacilli usually found in 

 tuberculosis of fowls. They were short, generally slightly curved, pointed at 

 both ends, and rarely beaded. 



A bacillus of the same kind was found in nodules on the wing, beneath 

 the eyes, etc., of pigeons (pigeon disease). Some of the material was inocu- 

 lated into a pocket made beneath the conjunctiva of the right eye of a pullet 

 and into the right eye of a young pigeon, and with another pigeon into a sub- 

 cutaneous pocket in the right side of the neck. In about 5 days a lump was 

 produced in each case, from which the characteristic bacilli were isolated. 



According to the author, " it therefore appears that this quite common dis- 

 ease of pigeons, usually pronounced tuberculosis on account of finding acid-fast 

 bacilli in the cheesy material, must be recognized as a pseudo-tuberculosis." 



Tests with. Wech's vaccine (gallin) against fowl diphtheria, Zeh {Landw. 

 Wclmsclir. Sacliscn, 12 (1910), No. 6, p. 44 J «&s. in Berlin. Tierdrztl. Wchnschr., 

 27 (1911), No. 12, p. 210).— This preparation did not yield good results, 



aURAL ECONOMICS. 



A study of farm equipment in Ohio, L. W. Ellis (U. 8. Dept. Agr., Bur. 

 Plant Indus. Bui. 212, pp. 57, figs. //).— This bulletin presents the results of a 

 study of farm equipment, under the joint auspices of the Office of Farm Manage- 

 ment of this Department and the department of cooperation of the Ohio Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station, on a number of Ohio farms where conditions were 

 unusually favorable for obtaining information as to the proper relationship 

 between investments in land, improvements, live stock, machinery, tools, and 

 other farm equipment. Considerable data and a number of tables are presented 

 illustrating the distribution of investments and showing the approximate cost 

 and value of many items which serve to illustrate by concrete examples many 

 of the factors to be taken into consideration in equipping farms. Other tables 

 show the average area and the volume of space devoted to live-stock enter- 

 prises, and the storage of products, machinery, etc., in buildings, and the cost, 

 value, and number of rods of fencing per acre on each of 21 successful farms. 



As to the distribution of acreage by enterprises it is shown for the group of 

 21 farms, with an average size of 165.88 acres, that each has an average of 



12544'— No. 7—11 7 



