788 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



eggs do not carry the protozoan organism of the disease. Both young and 

 adult turkeys become infected with the disease after being exposed to contami- 

 nated surroundings. The young turkeys finally die within twenty-four days 

 after exposure. Ordinary fields not contaminated by fowls of any kind are not 

 infected, but poultry yards are excessively infected. 



Common fowls were found to be hosts of the parasitic organism and may 

 spread the disease by means of the feces. Turkeys may be successfully reared 

 to maturity on small areas if the facts just mentioned are borne in mind. 

 Success is most likely to be attained if a sandy or dry soil is selected. No 

 breed of turkeys is immune to blackhead, but the older birds are more resistant 

 than young poults. 



Note on a filaria of the red grouse, L. W. Sambon {Jour, Trop. Med. and 

 Hyg. [London^, 10 (1907), Xo. IS. p. 30J,, fig. l).—li\ the blood of Lagopns 

 scoticus a parasitic worm was found which is described as a new species under 

 the name Filaria i^mithi. At present considerable interest attaches to a study 

 of the diseases of game birds. 



An epizootic septicemia among' canary birds, Freese (Deut. Tierarztl. 

 Wchnschr., 15 (1007), Xo. 36. pp. .jOl-oO.'i). — A dealer in canary birds lost 136 

 birds in one season from an infectious septicemia. The feathers become ruffled 

 and the eyes are held half shut. The course of the disease is only two or three 

 days. Intestinal mucous membranes become swollen and diffusely reddened, 

 and the liver is hyperemic. The disease may be transmitted to canary birds, 

 sparrows, and mice, but not to chickens, pigeons, rabbits, or guinea pigs. 



The period of incubation is three or four days. Apparently the disease is 

 caused by an undescribed species of l)acteria. The cultural peculiarities of this 

 organism are described. 



RURAL ECONOMICS. 



Farm tenancy, a problem in American agriculture, II. C. Price {Pop. ^ci. 

 Mo.. 72 {lOOS), Xo. 1. pp. -'lO-'i-J, figs. 2).— By statistics the author shows that 

 the percentage of American farms operated by owners is steadily decreasing, 

 and that tenancy in the last twenty years has ri.sen from 2.J.5 per cent in 1S80 

 to ,3.5..3 per cent in 190J. This tendency is regarded as detrimental to the agri- 

 cultural welfare of the country, as it affords an incentive to the average tenant 

 farmer to regard only the present productiveness of the land and to disregard 

 any methods of maintaining soil fertility. 



The remedy for this condition is believed to be legislative rather than eco- 

 nomic. '■ Legislation can do something to make it easier to own laud than at 

 present. The removal of taxes on mortgaged farms, the establishment of a 

 better credit system, so that money can be borrowed more readily and more 

 cheaply for the purchase of farm lands than is the case at the present time, 

 would greatly add to the ability of young farmers buying their own farms. 



" Education that will teach a more rational system of agriculture and a 

 greater appreciation of the possibilities of the farm and farm life will do much 

 to counteract the tendency of farm boys to leave the farm lands that they have 

 inherited to seek employment in the city." 



The agricultural laborer: His condition of life, J. Toner {Irish Gard., 

 2 {1907), Xo. 21, pp. 202, 203). — This is a description of the life of farm 

 laborers in Ireland. Attention is called to the imi>rovement in housing accom- 

 modations during recent years and to the need of still further aid by public 

 boards and the government in order to enable the farm laborer by proper in- 

 struction and guidance in principles of self-help to provide himself and family 

 with an increase in quantity and quality of food supplies, better household 



