398 THE VETERINARY DOCTOR. 
araw fresh egg being a good diet while the appetite is impaired, followed 
up with a little cooked meat. As a tonic, put a few drops of muriate of iron 
in the drinking-water, rusty nails in the water being also of service. 
Leg-weakness is due to prolonged in-and-in breeding, to high feeding, 
which increases the weight of the body more rapidly than the muscular 
strength, and to deficiency of the earthy matter of the bones. It most often 
attacks Cochins, Brahmas and other large breeds, and young cocks are 
more liable to it than others of a flock. Its nature should be closely 
studied so as to distinguish it from rheumatism, gout and debility. Its sole 
manifestation is repeated or constant squatting on the hocks or belly, some- 
times with utter inability to stand. In the way of treatment, feed wheat, 
barley, meat and other articles that do not tend to produce fat. In warm 
weather dip the legs in cold water twice a day. Give three times a day a 
pill made of a mixture of five grains of phosphate of lime, one-sixteenth of 
a grain of strychnine, and a half-grain of sulphate of quinine. Also supply 
a tonic of iron, a few drops of the tincture or some rusty nails in water. 
Occasionally give lime-water (see page 367) as a drink. 
SCALY LEGS.—ELEPHANTIASIS. 
This chiefly attacks old birds of the Asiatic breeds, and is caused by an 
insect which, with its eggs and cast-off skin, increases the size of the scales 
which form on the legs. Too close confinement, over-feeding, damp or 
muddy quarters, insufficient meat and too little green food are exciting 
causes. The insects sometimes infest the comb and then require the treat- 
ment given below. The disease is contagious and may be transmitted to 
other animals or to man. It is characterized by a whitish scurf on the legs 
and toes, sometimes a half-inch thick on the former, which may grow hard 
if neglected, 
TREATMENT. 
well with water and soap, using a stiff brush to remove a part of the scurf 
Keep the fowl in a clean, dry place. Wash the legs 
at a time if it has become hard; then smear with lard and sulphur mixed, 
or with kerosene oil. Lard and coal-tar make a good ointment; vinegar or 
glycerine may be sufficient for mild cases. Some use a wash of a weak 
solution of sugar of lead in the morning and apply a dilution of creosote 
at night. Stoddard’s Poultry Ointment will effect a cure without any of 
the above remedies. Jt should be kept on the shelf in every poultry-house 
convenient for use. Night is the best time to apply it. This disorder is 
sometimes called itch, but by the latter term we generally mean a condition 
in which parasites are ¢z the skin. Another form of itch in poultry is con- 
sidered on the next page. 
Digitized by Microsoft® 
