154 INSECTS OF FXONOMTC IMPORTANCE 



should be built so that the perches, nest boxes, etc., 

 may be readily removed leaving only four bare 

 v^alls; spray the inside of houses with one part 

 crude carbolic acid and three parts kerosene; sit- 

 ting hens should be isolated from laying hens; a 

 dust bath should be provided for the fowls. 



Hen lice - (Mcnopon paUidiim and other species) 

 Order — Mallophaga 



There are 9 or lo species of lice that infest fowls ; 

 they have biting mouth-parts and live upon scales 

 of cast-off skin and on bits of feathers — do not suck 

 blood; they irritate the fowls, however, by their 

 presence and interfere with growth and ^gg pro- 

 duction and are fatal to young chicks ; these Hce are 

 permanent parasites and each leg ends in two sharp 

 claws. 



The lice deposit their whitish eggs or ''nits" at 

 the bases of the feathers; here they hatch and the 

 young lice gradually grow into adults. 



Control — Use the same measures as for the 

 mites; dips have been recommended but they are 

 objectionable: one of the best is made by mixing 

 ij4 ounces of pure carbolic acid with i gallon of 

 hot water; when cool immerse the fowl in it one 

 minute; creolin at the rate of 2^ ounces to the 

 gallon may be used instead; the Cornell powder is 

 good for dusting fowls; it is made of i part crude 

 carbolic acid, 3 parts gasoline, and enough plaster 

 of Paris to take up the liquid; J4 pint of acid, % 

 pint of gasoline and about 2^^ pounds of plaster 

 will form about the right proportions. Apply the 

 powder with a sifter or with the fingers and work 

 it in among the feathers; sodium fluoride has 



2 Herrick— Cornell Univ. Expt. Stat.. Bull. 359. 

 Lamson and Manter — Conn. (Storrs) Expt. Stat., Bull. 86. 

 Bishopp and Wood— U. S. Dept. Agr., Ear's' Bull. 801. 



