TAPE- WORMS. 151 



swallowed in tlie water, or, as we believe, with the 

 herbage. The white spots voided with the dung are each 

 one a perfect worm, and they may be observed on a 

 fresh stool stretching out their heads and putting out 

 their feelers to grasp the intestine should they have the 

 good fortune to be swallowed by a bird ; but we expect, 

 as a rule, it is only those that get washed off the dung, 

 and are voided in the urine, and thereby get a chance 

 to hang on to the grass, that get swallowed. 



We have tried all the vermifuges mentioned in our 

 list, with the exception of kausau, but have found none 

 satisfactory except turpentine and male fern. 



We infinitely prefer the former : it is more certain 

 in its action, acts at the same time on the kidneys, and 

 is cheaper. But w^ith them both, the line between a 

 sufficiently large dose to be effective, and that which 

 will cause the bird to be seriously affected, even if it is 

 not fatal, is small; and, worse still, this line does not always 

 seem to be the same for different lots of birds of the 

 same age ; so that it is always advisable with young 

 chicks to try two or three, with the sized dose it is 

 intended to give, a couple of days before physicking the 

 lot, and observing the effect. If the dose is too large 

 it will make them drunk, stagger in their gait, and 

 fall about ; if not fatal at the time it does not appear 

 to do them any permanent harm. If the dose is not 



