the whitish or yellowish secretions of the kidneys, mixed 

 with considerable mucus and a small quantity of intestinal 

 contents which may have a yellowish, brownish, or greenish 

 color. There is considerable fever, and soon after the bird is 

 attacked, it loses its lively appearance, separates itself from 

 the flock, appears dull, dejected, and sleepy. It no longer 

 searches for food, but sits with the head drawn down to the 

 body or turned backward and resting about the feathers in 

 the wing. The plumage soon loses its brilliance, the wings 

 droop, the appetite is diminished, and the thirst increased; 

 the comb and wattles may be dark bluish red from engorge- 

 ment with poorly oxiginated blood, or they may be pale and 

 bloodless on account of the congestion of the internal organs, 

 especially the liver. The affected birds soon become very 

 weak, drowsy, and often sleep so soundly during the last day 

 or two of their lives that it is difficult to rouse them. If made 

 to move, they stagger forward for a few steps only and in 

 an uncertain manner and with dragging wings. The crop is 

 usually distended with food and apparently paralyzed, and 

 feathers about the vent are soiled and sometimes pasted to- 

 gether with excrement. As death approaches the weight and 

 the strength of the bird rapidly diminish, it breathes with 

 difficulty, sits with beak open, and the breathing may be 

 heard at some distance. Finally the weakness is such that 

 the beak is rested upon the ground and a little later the bird 

 falls over on one side, makes a few convulsive movements, 

 and dies. 



In the very acute cases, no symptoms are seen; the bird 

 may be found dead under the roosts, or they may fall at the 

 feed trough and die in a few minutes. The cholera-like dis- 

 ease often occurs in a chronic form which may follow an 

 acute attack of the disease or may be chronic from the first. 

 This form is characterized by a continually increasing weak- 

 ness, loss of weight, and, finally, an exhaustive diarrhoea. 

 Sometimes one or more joints of the wings or feet swell, the 

 birds become very lame, and later the swellings break and 

 discharge a creamy or cheesy mass which contains large 

 numbers of germs. 



These diseases may destroy the greater part of a flock in 

 a week and then disappear, or they may linger for months, 

 only occasionally killing a bird. The time between exposure 

 to the contagion and the appearance of symptoms is from 2 

 to 5 days, and the duration of the disease is from 24 to 10 

 days. 



36 



