24 



crevices have been carefull.v clo!<ed. Kerosene emul- 

 sion is also highly etlicienl as a spray for the interior 

 of an infested poultry house. The perches and nests 

 should be scrubbed with a strong solution of washing 

 soda or lye or scalded with hot water. If this treat- 

 ment is carried out and if the poultry house is white- 

 washed two or three times a year there will be little 

 trouble in keeping the fowls free from lice. 



3. MITES AND TICKS. 



These parasites are usually, though improperly, de- 

 scribed as lice. They are exceedingly annoying to all 

 kinds of poultry and sometimes cause such loss of con- 

 dition that lice are suspected but none can be found. 



THE COMMON POULTRY MITE, the Dermanyssus 

 gallince, is a small, oblong parasite, about 1-32 of an 

 inch long and 1-70 of an inch broad. It it provided 

 with eight legs and each foot has two claws. 



The abdomen is surrounded by short bristles. The 

 color is yellowish or brownish, but when the animal 

 is full of blood it becomes dark brown or dull red. 

 The back sometimes «ihows little white spots. This 

 parasite is one of the most destructive known. It af- 

 fects all varieties of domestic fowls and sometimes 

 when present in large numbers passes to other ani- 

 mals, cattle, dogs, cats, horses and sometimes to peo- 

 ple. One of the striking peculiarities in regard to it 

 is that it does most of its work at night. Upon the ap- 



