riSEASFS OK POITI.TKV. 55 



difficult, and painful. There may be coughing 

 with discharge from the mouth or nostrils of thick, ad- 

 hesive mucus, grayish or yellowish in color or tinged 

 with blood. The bird stands with ruffled plumage, 

 drooping wings, head drawn in, and every appearance 

 of severe illness. There is loss of appetite from the 

 first, with thirst and constipation. 



On examination of the lungs after death one or both 

 of these organs are found dark in color, engorged with 

 blood and solidified. The pneumonia may take either 

 one of two forms. There may be what is known as 

 broncho -pneumonia, in which case the inflammation 

 affects more particularly the bronchi and the lung is 

 not much solidified. The bronchial tubes in this case 

 are more or less filled with thick mucus and exudate. 

 In the other form, called croupous pneumonia, the tis- 

 sue of the lung is principally affected. It is then that 

 the lung is solidified by the filling up of the air- 

 cells. A piece of lung so affected, if dropped into a 

 bucket of water, sinks to the bottom while healthy 

 lung tissue will float. The bronchial tubes and air- 

 sacs are also in some cases filled with a thick, yellow- 

 ish fibrinous exudate w^hich blocks up these air -pas- 

 sages and becomes partly solidified. 



Treatment. — This is a rapid and fatal disease with 

 birds and one in which treatment is very unsatisfactory. 

 The bird should first of all be taken into a warm room 

 and covered with a piece of blanket, if the weather be 

 at all cold, leaving its head uncovered, so that there 

 will be no obstruction to its supply of fresh air. It 

 should be given linseed tea frequently, but a small 

 quantity at a time, as a drink. This tea is made by 

 pouring a pint of boiling water on an ounce of flaxseed 

 and keeping the mixture hot but not boiling for two 



