VETERINARY SCIENCE AND PRACTICE. 793 



tosis on the part of the leucocytes was observed. Similar conditions •svej'e found after 

 intravenous injections of virulent cultures from the serum of the body cavity. The 

 author explains the phenomenon of phagocytosis, which was observed in rabbits which 

 had been inoculated with virulent cultures of fowl-cholera bacilli developed on an 

 artificial medium, ])y the presence of any such cultures of nonvirulent bacilli. It was 

 shown that the white blood corpuscles of the rabbit do not surround the virulent 

 bacilli of fowl cholera during any stage in the progress of the disease. It is not 

 believed that this fact is due to a poisonous intiuence of the bacilli u])on the leucocytes, 

 but the phenomenon is explained as an example of negative chemotaxis. 



Biological division, C. Curtice {Rhode Island Sta. Rpt. 1901, pp. 201-224).— 

 Numerous experiments were made for the purpose of determining the conditions 

 which influence the rate of mortality among chickens during iucubation or in arti- 

 ficial brooders. Of 58 chickens placed in an outdoor brooder, 53 died within 3 

 weeks. The cause of death was in most cases lung trouble of the nature of pneu- 

 monia, and was due to exposure to sudden changes of temperature. Some of the 

 chicks died of congestion of the lungs and others of intestinal troubles. On account 

 of this great mortality, experiments were conducted for the purpose of securing a 

 uniform temperature and observing the intiuence of these conditions upon chickens. 

 The best results were obtained when the temperature of the room was kept high 

 enough so that no marked difference of temperature prevailed between the air in the 

 room and that in the brooders. When the temperature in the brooder was kept too 

 high, it was found that the exposure of the chickens to changes of temperature in 

 moving in and out of the brooder were liable to cause disease and death. Box 

 brooders were constructed and heated by setting a papier-mache or wooden pail of 

 water at a temperature of 140 to 165° upon them. It was found possible to maintain 

 the temperature of the brooder by this means between 75 and 90° F. Green food 

 was obtained for the chickens, mostly in the form of lettuce, in addition to cracked 

 grain and wheat, oatmeal, scraps, and animal food (consisting for the most part of 

 boiled eggs, boiled liver, and animal meal ) . A number of chickens were taken from 

 a warm incubator and placed in cotton-lined baskets, supposed to be warm enough 

 to protect the chickens. They were carried for about three-quarters of a mile and 

 placed in brooders. About 60 per cent of these chickens died later from lung dis- 

 eases due to the temperature changes. 



During these experiments attention was given to the food of young chickens, and 

 it is recommended that cracked gram and cracked wheat and other similar food 

 should 1)6 sifted, so as not to offer too coarse or too fine material for the chickens. 

 In addition to the usual food of this sort and of an animal nature, grass, lettuce, or 

 other green material is highly recommended. The author considered the question 

 of whether artificial incubation has any effect upon the vigor of the chickens. It is 

 believed by the author that chickens which come from the egg in a fully developed 

 condition do not die on account of weakness due to incubation. Of the incubated 

 eggs examined by the author, in which dead embryos were found, death had occurred 

 in most cases after the fourteenth day of incubation. When insufficient moisture is 

 furnished during incubation, it was found that a considerable percentage of chickens 

 failed to hatch. It is believed that an incubator that furnishes air nearly saturated 

 with moisture, so as to prevent drying of the embryo, will furnish the largest and 

 strongest chickens. 



Attention is called to the desirability of further investigation on the subject of 

 blackhead of turkeys. A report is made on several serious outbreaks of goose cholera. 

 One dealer in geese lost about 3,200 between July and October. The course of the 

 disease is usually about 36 hours, and the chief symptoms were an unsteady gait, 

 peculiar movements of the head, and formation of considerable quantities of mucous 

 in the throat and nasal cavities. In some cases a catarrhal condition of the intestines 

 was observed. Feeding experiments with the internal organs of dead geese demon- 



