54 



taking care uot to sew the skiu of the bird to the sack of the crop. Close the 

 crop with white linen thread first, having the knot on the inside, then put a 

 few stitches in the skin. Put in a warm place and give no water for twenty- 

 four hours and only soft food, and it will soon recover. 



Gapes. 



Causes. — Foul water, exposure to wet, damp places, particularly at night, 

 want of nourishing food, etc. 



Siimptoms. — The general symptoms, as the name implies, consist in con- 

 stant gaping, coughing and sneezing, together with inactivity and loss of 

 appetite. 



TreatmeHt. — Give the bird daily, until it recovers, a small piece of cam- 

 phor about as large as a grain of wheat, and add a few drops of camphor or 

 turpentine to the drinking water, or mix with the food, about ten drops to 

 the pint. 



Leg Weakness. 



Cause. — It often arises from the inbreeding of the same strain of fowls 

 for too long a period, but is usuall.v caused b.v too high feeding, which 

 increases the weight of the bod.v out of pro)iortion to the muscular strength of 

 the legs; it more generall.v occurs in the large breeds, such as Cochins and 

 Brahmas, particularly in the cockerels. 



Symptoms. — Squatting around ou their hocks, after standing for a short 

 time, as if tired ; in bad cases they are unable to stand on their feet at all. 



Treatment. — In an early»stage give the following pill twice or three times 

 a day: One grain of sulphide of iron, five grains of phosphate of lime and 

 half a grain of quinine. 



Dnuglas Mixture. 



"Douglas Mixture"' is made thus: — Take of sulphate of iron (common 

 copperas) 8 ounces; sulphuric acid, 14 fluid ounce. Put into a bottle or jug 

 1 gallon of water, into this put the sulphate of iron. As soon as the iron 

 is dissolved add the acid, and when it is clear the " mixture " is ready for use. 



In hot weather, or when the flock is small, less may be prepared at once, 

 but the above proportion should be observed. This "mixture" or tonic sliould 

 be given in the drinking water ever.y other day — a gill for every twenty-five 

 head is not too nuich — and where there is infection It must be used every day, 

 but where there is no disease, not so often, or in small ipiantities if used every 

 day. 



This preparation, simple as it is, is one of the best tonics for poultry 

 known. It is alternative as well as tonic, and possesses, besides, antiseptic 

 properties which make it a remedy as well as a tonic. 



There are many other disea.ses that poultry are liable to. but the above 

 are most prevalent and most likely to be met with. 

 Vermin Pests of Fowls. 



To keep fowls in good healthy condition it is absolutely necessary to 

 keep down the vermin. This particularly applies to chickens; turkeys are 

 also troiibled, but to a less degree, while ducks and geese are worried little 

 if at all. 



