382 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



vory difficult or impossible to check. The author criticizes unfavorably the 

 view that retention of the afterbirth may be due to an insufficient amount of 

 lime in the ration. It is held that a ration deficient in lime may lead to a 

 general state of malnutrition in the animal but that in such cases the mere 

 addition of lime to the ration will not bring about a normal parturition with 

 the expulsion of the afterbirtli within the usual period. 



Hook-worm disease of catttle, A. F. Conrad and E. Barnett (South Caro- 

 lina Sta. Bui. 137, pp. 5-23, figs. 8). — From post-mortem examinations made 

 upon 4 heifers taken from the college herd it was found that these animals 

 were seriously infested with the hook worm of cattle (Monodontus phlebot- 

 omus) previously known to occur in Texas and Florida. In two of these 

 cases other parasites were almost entirely absent, while in two stomach w^orms 

 (IlcnnoncJivs contort us) were fairly numerous. 



Thymol did not appear to affect the worms greatly, as in a post-mortem 

 examination made on the third day following a dose of 1.^0 grains, numerous 

 stomach worms were found in the fourth stomach, myriads of hook worms in 

 the duodenum, and many inflated bowel worms (CEsophagostoma inflatum) in 

 the cecum. The i*esults of fecal examinations, made in each animal, are given 

 in tabular form. Life-history studies of hook worms were made and are re- 

 ported. 



Experiments were made to determine the extent to which the woi-ms may be 

 eliminated by moving 2 heifers from the infested herd to a disinfected shed 

 known to be free from infestation. One of the animals gradually improved, 

 while the other continued to become weaker until the condition became such 

 that it was killed. The authors considered the principal method of host in- 

 festation to be through the mouth. 



In examinations of the pasture in which the experimental herd was kept, 

 larvae were only found in material from the lowland and about the barn. In 

 March the larva? were very numerous in the bottom lands, while it was difficult 

 to find any upon the upland. There appeared to be little development in the 

 feces dropped on a hill during the drought of summer and little danger from 

 infestation in running water. 



At present the outlook for a cure is not encouraging. To reduce infestation, 

 drainage, plowing, and burning are suggested. " It is recommended that on 

 hoolc worm infested farms annual crop rotation be practiced as far as possible. 

 The manure should be removed from stables occupied by infested animals daily 

 and air-slaked lime used liberally to dry up the floors. The greatest precau- 

 tion should be exercised to prevent the spread of this pai'asite into localities 

 where it does not j'et occur, either by shipments of infested cattle or otherwise." 



Xotes are also given on Coopcria punctata and GJsop]iagosto)na infiatuw. 



Milk fever: Its prevention and successful treatment {South Carolina Sta. 

 Bui. J39, pp. 3-13 figs. 6). — Considerable loss of cattle in the State has been due 

 to this disease about which most cattle owners know very little. The author 

 describes the cause of the disease, the symptoms, and methods of treatment. 

 Attention is called to the importance of preventive treatment. The use of 

 drugs is considered and the oxygen and sterile air treatments are described. 

 The results obtained by the station from the use of oxygen and sterile air in 2 

 cases are given in tabular form. All of these recovered, with the exception of 

 one that had been drenched, which died from gangrene of the lungs. 



Notes on the cattle tick and tick fever of cattle, R. R. Dinwiddie (Arkansas 

 Sta. Bui. 101, pp. 185-210). — These notes contain observations and experiments 

 on the local life history of cattle ticks with reference to the problem of tick 

 eradication in north Arkansas, experiments on the natural and artificial trans- 

 mission of tick fever, and tests of treatment by hyperimmune serum and by in- 



