DOITESTIC POULTBT. 



a teaspoonfdl of castor-oil. Be snre that the roosting-place 

 is clean and well ventilated. 



Gapes (inflammation of the trachea) is a disease to which 

 all our domestic gaUinaceous birds are subject, and which often 

 occasions great mortality. It is indicated by running at the 

 nostrils, watery eyes, alteration of voice, and loss of appetite 

 and spirits. If the bird dies and the trachea be examined, it 

 will be found replete with narrow worms, about half an inch 

 in length. " This singular worm," says a recent writer, " is 

 the Syngarrms tracheaUs, or Bistoma lAneoure. It consists of a 

 long and a short body united together ; the long body is the 

 female, the short body the male ; each, were it not that they 

 are permanently united together, being an animal distinct and 

 perfect in itself Whether these parasitic worms are the cause 

 or consequence of the disease, we pretend not to say, nor can 

 we tell how they become introduced into the trachea: this, 

 however, seems certain, that their removal is reqtusite to give 

 the feathered patient a chance of recovery. This can be done 

 by means of a feather, neatly trimmed, which is to be intro- 

 duced into the windpipe, and turned round once or twice, and 

 then drawn out. It will dislodge the worms, and bring back 

 many of them adhering with slime unto it. This plan requires 

 great dexterity, and some knowledge of the anatomy of the 

 parts : a slow, unskilfQl operator may kiU the already half- 

 suffocated bird, instead of curing it. Another mode of de- 

 stroying these worms is, by putting the birds in a box, and 

 making them inhale the fumes of tobacco, thrown into it 

 through the stalk of a tobacco-pipe. Some recommend the 

 forcing of tobacco-smoke down the bird's throat, and others 

 that the mouth be crammed with snuff; while many place 

 faith in the efficacy of a pinch of salt, introduced into the back 

 part of the mouth. Something Kke a scientific mode of treat- 

 ment may, however, be suggested. Give a grain of caloviel, 

 made up with bread into a piU, or two or three grains of Plum- 

 mer's pill {pil. Im/dr. suhmu/r. co., London Pharmacopoeia) ; 

 after which let flour of sulphur be administered, with a little 

 ginger, in pultaceous food composed of barley-meal. In the 

 mean time, let the bird be kept in a dry warm shed or room, 

 apart from the rest of the fowls, as the disease may be in- 

 fectious. Let the mouth and beak be washed with a weak 

 solution of chloride of hme." 



Asthma. — When fowls are affected with this complaint, it ii" 

 evidenced by difficulty of breathing and a wheezing, rattling 



