Diseases of the Alimentary Tract 77 



Cole and Hadley^ recommend for treatment of this dis- 

 ease in connection with blackhead in turkeys the following : 

 " (1) Isolate the sick bird from the flock and place it in a 

 dry, well lighted location free from cold and drafts. (2) 

 Feed sparingly on soft, light, easily assimilable food, with 

 little grain, especially corn." The chief preventive 

 measures are to keep the birds on fresh ground; to isolate 

 any birds showing the least sign of disease, to destroy all 

 dead birds and to protect the birds from contamination car- 

 ried either by new stock or by other poultry or by wild birds 

 as sparrows, crows, etc. 



According to Salmon^ the most successful treatment has 

 been to put 3 grains of copperas (sulphate of iron) to a 

 quart, or 15 grains of catechu to a gallon of the water given 

 the birds to drink. They should also be given an occasional 

 dose of calomel (f to 1 grain) or of castor oil (2 to 3 teaspoon- 

 fuls). They may also be given castor oil containing 5 to 

 10 drops of oil of turpentine with each dose. 



Peritonitis 



The thin serous membrane which lines the abdominal 

 cavity and covers the internal organs is called the peritoneum. 

 Inflammation of this membrane may occur in connection with 

 the inflammation of certain internal organs such as the intes- 

 tines, liver, kidneys, etc. In these cases the inflammation 

 extends from the diseased organs on to the wall of the body 

 cavity. Peritonitis may also be caused by the entrance of 

 foreign bodies into the abdominal cavity. It may further 

 be caused by severe bruises or injuries of the abdominal 

 wall. 



' Loc. cit. 



2 Salmon, D. E., "Important Poultry Disease." U. S. Dept. 

 of Agrio. Farmers' Bull. No. 530, pp. 1-36, 1913. 



