53 



of death is disclosed by a dissection of the bird, it is 

 fair to assume that other fowls that present the symp 

 toms shown by Uie dead one, suffer from the presence 

 of the same kind of parasite. 



Of all varieties of poultry, guinea fowls and pea 

 fowls are least subject to the ravages of parasites. Of 

 the other ^'urieties, those that live on dry land seem to 

 be more troubled with parasites than those that swim 

 in che water, as ducks and geese. 



1. TA PE WOR.MiS— OESTODES 



A tapeworm is a row of more or less dislinc-t organ- 

 isms joined together in the form of a band or tape. 

 At one end there is a somewhat conical or globular 

 segment supplied, at its free end, with four suckers, 

 and in the center between these with a crown of 

 thorns. This segment is usually termed the head of 

 the tapeworm, but in reality it is not a head for the 

 tapeworm has and requires no head. It lias no mouth, 

 no eyes, no nervous system, no intestinal canal. It 

 deriVes its nourishment from the fluids surroainding 

 it by absorbing them through its outer skin. The first 

 segment, popularly termed the head, is known in scien- 

 tific language as the Scolex, and its function is to at- 

 tach itself to the lining meinbrane of the intestines by 

 its sucktrs and htoks, and by a process of division de- 

 velop tapeworm joints from its other extremity. 



