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Gapes and Worms of Poultry. 



Worm ; scientifically it is named Syngamus trachealis by 

 Siebold, Sclerostoma Syngamus by Diesing, Fasciola trachea 

 by Montague, Syngamus ftrimitivus by Molin, and also 

 Syngamus bifurcatus. 



The internal position taken up by this worm is always in 

 the air tubes, usually the trachea, but sometimes in the 

 bronchi. The disease is really a kind of tracheo-bronchitis, 

 due to the irritating action of the worms on the mucous 

 membrane of the air tubes. Chickens and turkey poults 

 suffer most, but I have seen quite old birds severely affected. 

 In one case I could only account for the death of an old 

 Dorking cock by the number of these red Worms in its 

 trachea ; the greatest mortality is, however, in young birds. 

 It is also often very troublesome in pheasantries, carrying 

 off the young by hundreds. Syngamus trachealis is also 

 found in the Sparrow, Starling, Rook, Hooded Crow, Linnet, 

 Magpie, Martin, Swift, and Green Woodpecker. So that 

 it is not only by means of unhealthy poultry that the 

 disease is spread, but doubtless naturally by these wild 

 birds ; and, as will be seen later, the Earth-Worm acts as a 

 carrier of the disease. 



The life history of the Gape Worm has been differently 

 interpreted, but I feel sure that Ehlers and Megnin and 

 some other early observers are correct, namely, that 

 development is direct. A series of experiments I conducted 

 in 1895-96 agree in this respect. 



Gapes is a disease which not only occurs in Europe, but 

 also in America and elsewhere. As pointed out years ago 

 by Dr. Wiesenthal, it is chiefly felt on old-established 

 poultry farms. That evil results attend the constant 

 breeding of birds on the same land is well known to 

 gamekeepers, who annually employ fresh land for bringing 

 up the young birds. Yet poultry are frequently reared year 

 after year on the same piece of land. Of course it is 

 not always possible to have fresh breeding ground every 

 season ; recourse must then be had to numerous methods 

 of disinfection and remedies which, if properly carried 

 out, will allow of chicks being bred and kept just as free 

 from disease as those kept on a large area. Over- 



