LEAD POISONING. 599 



During a recent visit to Currituck Sound, I heard 

 much of a disease to which wildfowl there are subject, 

 and which is locally known as "croup." This sickness 

 seems to be common to ducks, geese and swans, and I 

 saw a number of the affected birds. The local gun- 

 ners believe it to be a disease of the respiratory organs ; 

 and, on capturing a sick bird, rub its throat, under the 

 impression that something is choking the fowl. Of 

 course, the sick ones are not under observation during 

 the early stages of the disease, but only after they be- 

 come so weak as to be easily captured; the symptoms 

 are a rattling in the throat, as if there were difficulty in 

 breathing, and an occasional dribbling of a few drops 

 of yellowish fluid from the bill, which is held open 

 much of the time. In the geese, the voice is changed, 

 being less resonant than in health. A ''croupy" goose, 

 captured near the point of Narrows Island, January 

 14th, seemed in good condition, sleek and quite strong. 

 It swam vigorously, but did not attempt to fly, and 

 when caught, struggled with a good deal of force. As it 

 was being put in the boat, its head and neck hanging 

 down, it disgorged two or three tablespoonfuls of a 

 yellowish fluid, and died. A swan caught on Brant 

 Island, a day or two earlier, was brought in alive and 

 put in the goose pen, where it lived for a short time, but 

 was found dead one morning. At times this bird seemed 

 to feel pretty well, dabbling in the water and dressing 

 its plumage, but much of the time it stood or sat with 

 its bill open, breathing hard, and with the yellowish 

 fluid dropping from its beak. 



