DISEASES AND PESTS. 821 
the swelling. If that fails and the swelling becomes 
large, soft, and full of pus, it should be ire the pus 
removed and the wound thoroughly 
washed out with warm water, when 
it will usually heal. 
Scaty Lezcs.—Scabby leg, leg a it 
rot, scaly leg, elephantiasis, and j au E 
bumble-foot. This well-known dis- eg 
ease, under its various names, is 
also due to a mite, the Sarcoptes 
mutans. This mite affects most 
birds, and has been known for some 
considerable time. The creature ap- 
parently only affects the legs of x 
birds, the similar disease of the 
head being due in all cases to a fun- 
goid pest. 
The diseased limbs become covered 4 , 4 N& 
with rough, lumpy crusts, which ( | 
can be removed with a blunt knife, OH 
but unless the limb is moistened \ 
with soft soap and warm water, the sic. 125, BAD CASE OF 
removal leads to violent bleeding, SCALY LEG. 
which should be avoided. This sarcoptic mite lives and 
breeds under the scales of the feet and legs, gradually 
raising them up and form- 
y ing beneath them a white, 
powdery mass. The crusts 
formed are generally hol- 
low, and contain a spongy 
mass internally, in the lower 
FIG. 196, MITE wHicH causes parts of which are to be 
SCABBY LEG (magnified). found the pests in all stages. 
They sometimes produce such violent inflammation and 
disease that the toe or affected parts drop off. The dis- 
ease grows very slowly, some birds living over a year, but. 
21 
in 
