116 



The first essential in attempting to combat the tick is to construct 

 the fowl- houses properly, and the birds should be so controlled that they 

 will only roost in the places provided for them. Open-fronted houses 

 of corrugated galvanised iron with the framework on the outside, are 

 suitable and should be painted to keep the house cool. The next best 

 material is probably hardwood sawn palings, which if well seasoned 

 and put very close, edge to edge, make a good house. The worst of 

 all material is rough bush timber, or tongued and grooved boards, 

 which serve to harbour the ticks. The fowl-house should be sprayed 

 periodically, a good force-pimip as used in orchards being necessary, 

 so that every crack or crevice is reached ; about three sprayings are 

 required. The best liquid for the purpose is kerosene emulsion ; one 

 gallon of soft water is boiled and in it are dissolved 8 ounces of soft 

 soap ; this is removed from the fire and 1 gallon of kerosene is slowly 

 added ; the mixture is stirred until a foam-like emulsion is formed ; 

 to this are added 10 gallons of water which must be soft. If a quart 

 of wood-preserving oil (kerosene tar) be substituted for a quart of 

 kerosene, the spray is still more effective, but it has the disadvantage 

 of soiling the feathers of the fowls. Painting the roost with w^ood- 

 preserving oil can also be recommended as an additional preventive. 

 These measures are also most efEective against ordinary fowl lice. 



The Fowl Tick and Spirochaetosis. — Agric. Gaz. N.S.W., Sydney, 

 XXV, pt. 4, April 1911, pp. 349-350, 2 figs. 



The present account of spirochaetosis, transmitted by the fowl tick, 

 Argus persicus (see above) has been compiled by the veterinary officers 

 of the Stock Branch. The parasite referred to by Mr. Hadhngton has 

 been found affecting fowls in parts of Queensland, Victoria and many 

 other parts of the world, and it has long been suspected that a similar 

 tick fever was present in some of the dry, inland districts of New South 

 Wales. 



SpirocJiaeta marclwuxi, vel gaUinarum, has now been found in the 

 blood of affected fowls in the. latter State. Normally the fowl only 

 becomes infected through the agency of the tick, the parasites multiply- 

 ing rapidly in the blood, and later being usually found collected into 

 clumps. After this stage has been passed, they normally disappear, 

 though the bird may become weaker and die. If it recovers, it is 

 generally immune to further attacks. Serum from a bird that has 

 recovered, injected into a hitherto unaffected bird, will render the latter 

 immune for a short time. Preparations of arsenic (atoxyl and soamin) 

 have been found to have considerable curative properties, but from 

 a practical point of view neither artificial immunisation nor drug 

 treatment are as valuable as measures which eradicate ticks from the 

 fowl-run. 



Thomson (D.). Attempts to find disease germs in the European Bed- 

 Bug, Cimex lectidarms, after feeding experiments in various 

 diseases ; Leprosy, Lymphadenoma, Carcinoma, etc. — Ann. Trop. 

 Med. Parasit, Liverpool, Series T.M., viii, no. 1, 21st April 1914, 

 pp. 19-28. 



The author gives a brief review of recent work done on the trans- 

 mission of many tropical diseases by blood-sucking insects and suggests 



