ANNUAL REPORT, 1935 75 



testing of all the birds on the premises, supplemented with sound eradication 

 and preventive measures, is effective in establishing and maintaining flocks 

 free from the disease. 



The establishment of two official pullorum tested grades, namely, "Massa- 

 chusetts Pullorum Passed" and "Massachusetts Pullorum Clean," by the 

 Massachusetts Department of Agriculture should aid poultrymen in the buying 

 of new stock from flocks which are officially recognized as free from the disease. 

 This makes it possible to replace infected flocks with clean stock, and new stock 

 can be introduced into pullorum disease-free flocks without the introduction of 

 infection. 



2. Pullorum Disease Investigations. 



(a) 'Whole Blood Agglutination Test. During the past year investigations 

 concerning the whole blood agglutination test were resumed in order to gain a 

 more thorough insight into the factors which influence its effectiveness and its 

 reliability in eliminating pullorum infection from poultry flocks. Laboratory 

 and field experiments revealed that the whole blood agglutination test was not 

 as efficient as the standard tube agglutination method. The results have been 

 reported in Bulletin 323. 



(b ) Pullorum Disease Transmission by Feces from Reacting Birds. Ex- 

 periments revealed that under an environment approaching practical natural 

 conditions feces from reacting birds do not appear to be an important vehicle 

 in the transmission of pullorum disease. Non-infected birds maintained on 

 litter containing feces from reacting birds failed to develop the disease. How- 

 ever, non-infected birds force-fed with feces from infected hens contracted 

 the infection in a few instances. 



(c) Viability studies of S. pullorum, which are still in progress, have shown 

 that the organism has remained viable on a dry piece of cloth for a period of 

 1,169 days. 



3. Diagnostic Service. Personal calls at the laboratory were recorded 205 

 times. The number of cases handled was 546. The classification of 1,987 

 specimens follows: — 1,736 chickens, 121 ruffed grouse, 84 turkeys, 11 quail, 

 10 rabbits, 7 swine, 5 pheasants, 3 foxes, 3 purple grackles, 2 bovine and 1 each 

 of canine, cod liver oil, corn fodder, muskrat, and raccoon. The diseases en- 

 countered most frequently were reproductive-system disorders, parasitism, 

 tumors, avian paralysis, pullorum disease, and nephritis. The diagnoses of 

 diseases which are believed to be rare in Massachsuetts were paratyphoid 2, 

 fowl cholera 3, fowl typhoid 3, avian tuberculosis 1, and fowl typhoid in turkeys 

 1. Fowl cholera was noted in two new flocks and fowl typhoid in one, while 

 avian tuberculosis was found on the same premises where it was noted two years 

 ago. The poults in which fowl typhoid was noted were introduced from out- 

 side of the State. 



4. Flock Morbidity and Mortality Studies. Morbid and dead specimens were 

 examined from the Poultry Plant and Experiment Station flocks. From the 

 former, 212 birds were examined during a seven months period. Cannibalism 

 was noted in 111 of these birds, reproductive-system disorders in 38, tumors 

 in 16, avian paralysis in 16, and injuries in 12. From the Experiment Station 

 flock of 773 pullets placed into the laying houses in the fall of 1934, 207 were 

 examined during a 14 months period. The diseases most frequently encountered 

 were reproductive-system disorders 53, nephritis 40, tumors 29, leukemia 26, 

 avian paralysis 19, and visceral gout 16. Limited observations on 120 morbid, 

 live birds yielded meager information as to the etiology of the disease conditions. 



5. "Epidemic Tremors" in Chickens. A group of 83 chicks from eight flocks 

 showing symptoms of "epidemic tremors" was placed under observation at the 



