436 Journal of Agricultural Research voi. xn, no. ? 



treatment was continued for 1 1 days, at which time each hog had received 

 33 gm. of chenopodium seed, or the equivalent of about i mil of the oil. 

 One of the three hogs was apparently freed from ascarids. 



The treatment, besides being of uncertain efficacy, cost more than a 

 single treatment with chenopodium oil, since a large amount of both 

 chenopodium seed and areca nut must be consumed. Its efficacy would 

 doubtless be increased if given after a period of starvation, but this is 

 obviously impossible when the treatment must be continued for several 

 days. 



It appears from the above experiments that oil of chenopodium is an 

 excellent anthelmintic for ascarids in hogs when given in suitable dosage 

 after a preliminary period of starvation. The best purgative with which 

 to combine it is castor oil. This has the advantage of relative cheapness, 

 certainty of its action, and of being easily miscible with oil of chenopo- 

 dium. The chenopodium may be given first and followed immediately 

 by castor oil, or the two may be given together. The efficacy of oil of 

 chenopodium is greatly decreased or entirely lost if the drug is mixed 

 with the feed and several animals allowed to dose themselves while 

 eating together. Chenopodium seed and areca nut have but little 

 efficacy when given daily, mixed Avith the feed, and the expense of this 

 treatment, on account of the number of doses required, is actually 

 greater than a single dose of the relatively high-priced oil of chenopodium. 

 Chenopodium plants seem to have some value as an anthelmintic and, 

 when these are available, the cost of anthelmintic treatment is greatly 

 reduced. However, further experimentation is desirable along this line. 



The following experiments with chenopodium, in which the hogs were 

 subsequently killed and all worms counted, confirmed the writers' 

 opinion regarding the efficacy of oil of chenopodium when given under 

 suitable conditions : 



Two pigs weighing 8.16 and 14.06 kgm., respectively, were given i mil 

 of oil of chenopodium, while a third, weighing 9.98 kgm., was given 2 

 mils. The drug was followed by 59 mils of castor oil in the case of one 

 pig and given in 59 mils of castor oil in the case of the second pig. Eleven 

 ascarids and six nodular worms were passed by the pigs. Post-mortem 

 examination showed that all animals were freed from ascarids {Ascaris 

 suum), while numerous nodular worms {Oesophagostomum dentatum) 

 were found in each animal. The experiment adds further proof of the 

 efficacy of oil of chenopodium as an ascaricide, and demonstrates that it 

 also has some efficacy for nodular worms, although probably only a few 

 were removed. As already stated, these worms are so protected by the 

 large amount of fecal material in which they lie that it is unlikely that 

 any anthelmintic given by the mouth will have much effect upon them. 



As already noted in the previous experiments, oil of chenopodium, 

 when mixed with the feed of a number of hogs feeding together, had 

 shown little or no efficacy as an anthelmintic. Since, however, in these 



