PARASITIC AFFECTIONS 



the game-rearer, and he has one advantage over the latter, 

 namely, that of being able to apply remedial agents, and 

 adopt measures for the suppression of this undesirable affec- 

 tion, which would be quite inapplicable to either the game- 

 rearer or poultry-man. There is no doubt that this parasitic 

 trouble is more prevalent in some localities than others. A 

 moist atmosphere combined with a moderate degree of 

 warmth must be looked upon as favourable to the multiplica- 

 tion of these worms. It is a singular fact, nevertheless a 

 true one, that the earliest intimation of the trouble in young 

 Pheasants is usually the most readily detected when all is 

 quiet after the coops have been closed for the night. The 

 observant Pheasant-rearer usually listens for such early 

 intimation, the time for the detection of which may be the 

 means of averting serious losses, to say nothing of the 

 inconvenience arising in other ways. The young birds 

 emit a sneezing sound or modified form of cough. It is a 

 very difficult matter to trace the starting-point of a parasitical 

 disease of this nature, especially when one comes to con- 

 sider that other species of birds, such as the magpie, the 

 hooded crow, the partridge, the green woodpecker, the 

 turkey, the peacock, the common fowl, the martin, and last 

 but not least, so far as a medium of infection is concerned, 

 the sparrow, are all prone to it. In all probability other birds 

 are liable to the same complaint, therefore no great surprise 

 need be expressed when the disease appears, considering 

 that the facilities for the transmission of the gape-worm are 

 so varied. Although adult birds are not free from infesta- 

 tion, the percentage that becomes affected in this manner is 

 exceedingly small. 



History of the Affection. — It is said that Wiesenthal in 

 1799 first observed this disease at Baltimore amongst poultry, 

 and that, in 1806 and two subsequent years, Montagu noticed 



255 



