150 PHEASANTS FOR COVERTS AND AVIARIES. 



enteritis caused by intestinal worms is that set up by small 

 round worms which are found chiefly in the blind casca of the 

 intestinal tract. These worms may be so small as to require 

 a microscope to find them,, or may be easily visible to the 

 naked eye ; the one that is most commonly associated with the 

 disease is known as Heterakis papillosa or H. vesicular^. 

 When it is present the lining membrane of the intestine is 

 found to be intensely inflamed, and in severe cases the 

 intestine contains nothing but blood-stained mucus. The 

 symptoms are those of enteritis, namely, loss of appetite, 

 emaciation, diarrhoea, &c., but death does not occur so 

 rapidly as in enteritis caused by coccidia. The diseases 

 caused by these parasites are infectious, as the eggs of the 

 worms are passed with the droppings, and may be picked up 

 by healthy birds with their food. The treatment here muse 

 be mainly preventive, moving the birds on to fresh ground, 

 and paying great attention to the purity of the water supply. 

 As a medicine santonin has been found very efficacious, the 

 dose being four grammes to ten birds, given with the food ; 

 male fern has also been given with advantage. 



Pheasants hatched under farmyard hens are not in- 

 frequently liable to what are known as scurfy legs. This 

 objectionable disorder depends on the presence of minute 

 parasites (Sarcoptes mutans) which live under the scales of the 

 legs and upper part of the toes, where they set up an irritation, 

 causing the formation of a white, powdery matter, that raises 

 the scales and forms rough crusts, which sometimes become 

 very large. When these crusts are broken off and examined 

 with a microscope, or even a good hand lens, they will be 

 found to be filled with the female parasites, generally distended 

 with eggs. The crust itself may be compared to the crumb 

 of dry bread ; but the parasites are to be found only in those 

 parts which are kept moist by the skin. They appear to 

 cause great irritation to the bird. 



This disease is propagated by infection. It is seen in 

 fanciers' yards where the poultry are closely confined together, 



