THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



149 



GAPES L\ FOWLS. 



{Scleivstoina [^Stromjylus] siinijan 



BY N. H. PAAKEN, V. 



Dr. Wieseuthal, Professor of 

 Anatomy at Baltimore, U. S., 

 writing ill 1797, says: 



'• There is a disease prevalent 

 anion": the gallinaceous iidiiltry 

 in this country called llie Cdjn'x. 

 which destroys eight-ientl]~ of 

 onr fowls iu many parts, and is 

 most prevalent among voung 

 tnrkeys and chickeus bred upon 

 established farms. Chicks and 

 poults, in a few days after they 

 are hatched, are frequently 

 t'oiiiid to open widetlieir mouths 

 and gasp for breath, at the same 

 time sneezing, and attempting 

 to swallow. At lirst the affec- 

 tion is slight, but gradually be- 

 comes more and more oppres- 

 sive, and ultimately destroys. 

 Very few recover; they lan- 

 guish, grow dispirited, droop, 

 and die. It is generally known 

 these syini)toms are occasioned 

 by worms in the trachea. I have 



iWls 



ililc 



on under siicli circumstances." 

 What Dr. Wieseuthal wrote 

 -Bluud-red.'last centurv applies well to 

 Gapes as prevailing in ditierent parts of this 

 country at the present time. Pheasants and 

 partridges are also liable to the disease. Dr. 

 Spencer Cobbold says: 



'■ This parasite has been found and recorded 

 as occurring in the trachea of the tollowing birds, 

 namely, the turkey, dome^iic cock, ijliea-ant, 

 l)artridge, common duck, la|.u i-ii;, lihuk stork, 

 magpie, hooded crow, green w ooilpccki/r. star- 

 ling, and swift. I do not duubl, that this list 

 might be very much extended if our British 

 ornitliologists would favor us with their expe- 

 rience in the matter. Hitherto I have been sur- 

 prised to find how few of those to whom I have 

 mentioned the subjects appear to be acquainted 

 either with the nature of the parasite, or with 

 the various methods to he adopted in curing the 

 disease to which its presence in the windpipe 

 gives rise." 



In the calf, the parasites are found iu large 

 numbers in the trachea, or partially developed 

 in the substauce of the luugs. It is the Slronyy- 

 lus micrurus which is found in the calf, and 

 occasionally in the horse and ass. Iu lambs 



• We are indebted, for this illustration, to Prof. Jos. Leidy, 

 of Pliiladelptiia, wtio lias had the kiudness to ha\'e it copied, 

 after Siebold, from Archiv.f Nalurgescldchte, 183(5, plate 



and the smaller « 



L the attached male — Ku. 



and kids, the parasite is termed Strongylus Jila- 

 ria; and iu the pig, Strongylus contortus. In 

 Gapes, the parasite is Sderostoma (Strongylus) 

 syngamus occupying the trachea and bronchial 

 tubes of fowls. 



We find, on examining the lungs of sheep at 

 the slaughter-house, that almost all, in the first 

 year of their lives, have indications of deposits 

 in the lungs — at one time supposed to be tuber- 

 cular, but which we now know is due to para- 

 sitic productions. 



Stronyyli are not easily killed. Ercolani has 

 found them living thirty days after exposure to 

 air. They were dried up, but being moistened 

 with water, moved and gave other signs of life. 



The freed eggs, at the time of their maturity, 

 contain ciliated embryo capable of active pro- 

 gression. The prolonged action of moisture 

 from without, aided by vigorous movements of 

 the perfected embryo within, serves to loosen 

 the end of the egg-shell, by the opening of which 

 the animal is set free. 



Dr. Spencer Cobbold has recommended the 

 following course to be adopted iu this disease 

 of birds: 



"First. When the worm has taken up its 

 abode in the trachea of U>\\\~ and (ilhcr domestic 

 birds, the simplest plan .ohm-I'. a- Dr. Wieseu- 

 thal long ago pointed mil, in -iripiMiig a feather 

 from the tube to near the iiairuw end of the 

 shaft, leaving only a few uninjuifd webs at the 

 tip. The bird being secured, the web extremity 

 of the feather is introduced into the windpipe. 

 It is then twisted round a few times and with- 

 drawn, when it will usually happen that several 

 of the worms are found attached. In some in- 

 stances this plan entirely succeeds. But it is 

 not altogether satisfactory, as it occasionally 

 fails to dislodge all the occupants. 



" Secomlly. The above method is rendered 

 more effectual when the feather is previously 

 steeped in some medicated solution which will 

 destroy the worms. Mr. Bartlett, superinten- 

 dent of the Zoological Society's Gardens, em- 

 ploys for this purpose salt, or a weak iniusioii 

 of tobacco; and he informs us that the simple 

 application of turpentine to the throat externally 

 I's sufficient to kill the worms. To this plan, 

 however, there is the objection that, unless much 

 care be taken, the bird itself may be injuriously 

 affected by the drugs employed. 



" Thirdly. The mode of treatment recom- 

 mended by Mr. Montagu appears worthy of 

 mention, as it proved successful in his hands, 

 although the infested birds were old jiartridges. 

 One of his birds had died from suffocation ; but 

 he tells us that ■ change of food and change of 

 place, together with the infusion of rue and 

 garlic instead of plain water to drink, and chiefly 

 hempseed, independently of green vegetables 

 which the grass-plot of the raanagerie afforded, 

 recovered the others in a very short time.' 



"Fourthly. The plan I have here adopted, by 

 way of experiment, of opening the trachea and 

 removing the worms at once. This method is 



