PARASITES AND DISEASES OF POULTRY 
vermin. The hens wallow and fluff their feathers 
in the dust, and the pores in the louse’s body, 
through which it breathes, are closed 
thereby, and death takes place from 
suffocation. The dust bath also is valuable for 
cleansing the fowl’s body from dirt and impuri- 
ties; it provides much healthful exercise for the 
fowls, and they get a great deal of enjoyment and 
pleasure out of the bath in addition to the practical 
benefits. The finer the dust the better. Road dust 
is excellent, but no better than any other kind of 
dust or dirt that has been made very fine and free 
from clods and pebbles. In the summer, each flock 
should have access to several places in the yards, 
each two or three feet square, which have been 
spaded up and made quite fine. In the winter, 
boxes should be provided in the house. Observe 
this requirement, as it is important. 
While dust baths, used constantly and continu- 
ously, will often prevent lice from getting a start, 
yet once the pests become numerous, a quicker and 
more effective way of fighting them must be 
adopted. There are many brands of louse powder 
on the market; most of them are all right, but 
some are not. Use nothing but a well-advertised 
and approved brand, and even then closely watch 
the results, to make sure that the powder is doing 
the work. Where a large number of fowls are to 
be treated, it is a tedious, unpleasant task to dust 
237 
Body Lice 
