76 WORM PARASITES. 



forked shape will at once be noticed ; some single 

 straight individuals will most likely also be seen. 

 The forked worms are the copulating males and 

 females, the smaller one, forming the fork, being the 

 male. In most instances the worms are surrounded 

 by a frothy saliva, from which they can readily be freed. 

 The adult worm is red in colour, cylindrical in 

 form. The head is broad and truncated. The mouth 

 is a large, circular, cup-like depression supported by 

 a circular capsule ; at the base of this capsule are six 

 horny pointed processes around the opening of the 

 oesophagus. The male is from 2 to 6 mm. long, 

 the female varies from 10 to 20. In the male the 

 caudal pouch is truncated and supported by twelve 

 ribs ; this pouch is attached around the vulva of the 

 female. The male is attached so closely that it cannot 

 be separated from the female without tearing. The 

 female's body is much swollen at various places when 

 full of eggs. 



The eggs are very minute bodies, only 2 5 o^ 1 °f an 

 inch in length, ellipsoidal in shape, and have a distinct 

 operculum. The eggs are not laid, the vulva of the 

 female being closed by the male. In some large 

 females embryos are found, but in the majority I 

 have seen only undeveloped eggs in the uterus. Both 

 ova and embryos escape by the rupturing of the 

 female's body. This takes place, as a rule, after the 

 worm has been expectorated by the fowl, and some two 

 or three davs after the worm's death. Both ova and 

 embryos take up their abode in damp ground and in 



