DISEASES OF POULTRY. 183 



fowls would leave the rest of the flock, go off and mope 

 by themselves, refuse to eat, and, as a general thing, 

 those so affected soon died. The writer assumed this to 

 be cholera. Our reply was essentially as follows: Sepa- 

 rate at once the sick birds from the well. If the poultry- 

 house has not recently been put in order, remove all the 

 fowls until it can be fumigated, by burning sulphur, 

 and then whitewashed in every part of the interior with 

 lime-wash, to each pailful of which half a pound of 

 crude carbolic acid has been added. Mix some lard and 

 kerosene, and, with a rag, or swab, rub all the roosts. 

 Throw out all the old straw from the nest- boxes, and 

 grease with the lard and kerosene the insides of these. 

 Kenew the dust- boxes, using fine road-dust, and mixing 

 some sulphur with the dust. 



SCABBY LEGS IN POULTEY. 



The unsightly disease which affects the legs of fowls, 

 causing them to swell and become distorted, is due to a 

 mite, a small insect which is similar in appearance to 

 that which causes scab in sheep. It is roundish-oval, 

 and semi-transparent, about one eight-hundredth of an 

 inch in length, appearing, when magnified 400 diam- 

 eters, about half an inch long. If the scales from the 

 leg of a diseased fowl are beneath the microscope, a 

 number of these mites may be found between them. 

 Beneath the scales there are spongy, scabby growths, in 

 which the eggs and pupae of the mites are to be seen in 

 great numbers. The pupaB are very similar in shape to 

 the mature mites, but are very much smaller, appearing, 

 when viewed with the above-mentioned power, about 

 one tenth of an inch in length. The disease, being of a 

 similar character to the scab in sheep, or the mange in 

 dogs and cattle, may be cured by the same treatment. 



