26 



I)arasite sucks tho blood of its victim and one tif tlicMn 

 may rt-movt' (juilc an ap])iet'iable (juantity. It is es- 

 pecially liard on young chickens and tui-keys and on 

 setting liens. In tlie former case, by preventing rest 

 at night and by removing blood from the weak and 

 grooving bird, it i)roduces weakness and sometimes 

 death. In the latter (•as(\ by constantly distuibing the 

 setting ken during the night when she should have pei'- 

 fect rest, the annoyance may be so great that she will 

 be impelled to leave the nest and allow the eggs to be- 

 come chilled or in lier endeaver to lelieve herself of 

 the parasites, the eggs may be broken. The remedies 

 to be employed to destroy these parasites are similar 

 to those employed for destroying bird lice. But in 

 this case the disinfection and cleansing of the sur- 

 roundings are of even greater importance. Special 

 pains should be employed to introduce whatever dis- 

 infecting solution is used into all cracks and s])aces 

 where these parasites might lodge. Carbolic acid so- 

 lution (1 to 20) especiall valuable for this purpose, and 

 if a good treatment of the building with it is followed 

 by the application of whitewash the insets can be 

 thoroughly eradicated. 



The iniil) TK'K (^Argas marginaius) is in some 

 respects similar to the parasite above described. It 

 is confined to pigeons. It is of an oval shape, of a 

 brownisli color, and its head is located beneath the 

 body. It sucks the blood from its victim and some- 

 times o ecu res in such large numbers that it destroys 

 ])igeons in two weeks, producing death from exhaus- 

 tion. It is found most frecjuently about the neck and 

 beneath the breast, but it may also appear on other 

 jtarts of the body. Sometimes it |)asses to those who 

 have to handle infested ])igeons. and in these cases it 



