Table III. Comparison of Flocks and Birds Tested with Poultry Population Based on 1925 



Census 



*ln total poultry population. 

 **Taken from Table I. 



tested and in percentage (98.84 per cent) of birds showing no infection, and 

 seventh in percentage of total birds tested. Seventj'-seven and tvk^enty-seven 

 luindredths (77.27) per cent of all birds tested in this county were in flocks 

 where every bird was tested. 



Berkshire poultrymen did the least testing of any county in the State with 

 the exception of Dukes, Nantucket, and Suffolk, M'liere very few birds are 

 raised. 



Range of Infection 



The range of infection in flocks tested during the 1927-28 season was from 

 to 44.40 per cent. Table IV gives a summary of the average range of in- 

 fection in flocks over a period of five years. 



Twenty-four more flocks were reported as having no reactors in 1927-28 

 than in 1926-27. There were 40,560 more birds in non-reacting flocks in 1927- 

 28 than in any previous year in the five-year period. 



During the 1927-28 season a nmch larger number of heavily infected flocks 

 were detected than heretofore. Of the 31 flocks having over 20 per cent in- 

 fection, 17 were tested for the first time, 13 were tested for two or more con- 

 secutive years, and one was tested in 1925-26, but not in 1926-27. 



There are several possible explanations of the high percentage of infection 

 in the 31 flocks discussed above. For instance, one man who had 10.55 per 

 cent infection in 1926-27 and 29.09 per cent in 1927-28, and who has tested 

 for seven consecutive years, was reported as having his flock tested for ad\er- 

 tising purposes rather than for eradication purposes. This same man left 

 one reactor in his flock at the time of the 1926-27 test, which reactor was 

 discovered to be present wiien the flock was tested during the 1927-28 season. 



