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Our  Canaries 
DR.   BOWES   ON  CANARY  AILMENTS. 
Before  passing  on  to  our  brief  summary  of  diseases  we  give  here  a  few 
detailed  notes  on  the  commoner  ailments  of  Canaries  and  their  treatment, 
which  have  been  very  kindly  supplied  by  Dr.  T.  A.  Bowes.  "  Wheeziness,'" 
he  writes,  "is  a  symptom  of  a  departure  from  the  normal  inspiratory  mechanism. 
It  may  be  a  symptom  of  no  consequence,  or  of  serious  import.  Any  attempt 
at  treatment  of  it  should  be  directed  to  its  cause,  and  as  this  will  depend 
upon  a  correct  diagnosis  of  the  source  of  the  wheeziness  it  is  desirable  that 
the  conditions  under  which  it  is  in  evidence  should  be  fully  detailed  and 
appreciated. 
"  It  appears  to  me  capable  of  division  into  two  main  classes  : 
"  I.    Not  Associated  With  Real  Disease,  but  due  to  extraneous  conditions. 
"  These  are  :  {a)  Fure  Nervousness. — The  advent  of  a  stranger  into  the 
bird-room,  especially  when  the  hen  is  sitting,  will  often  produce  a  temporary 
noisy,  wheezy  breathing  with  a  partially  open  beak.  It  disappears  with  the 
exit  of  the  stranger  or  shortly  after. 
"  {b)  Irritation. — A  spluttering,  wheezy  cough  from  (i.)  tobacco  smoke,  (ii.)  fluff 
and  dust  from  nesting  material  or  dusty  seed,  (iii.)  from  feeding  young, 
especially  when  parent  is  rearing  the  brood  by  itself,  and  more  so  if  a  large  one. 
It  is  due  to  overwork  and  irritation  of  food  particles,  and  is  not  infrequently 
attended  by  some  huskiness  in  the  voice. 
"II.    Associated  With  Disease. 
"  (fl)  An  Ordinary  '  Cold.' — An  infective  catarrh  of  the  mucous  membrane  of 
the  nose,  throat  and  upper  portion  of  air  passages.  It  gives  rise  to  a  discharge  of 
thin  fluid  from  the  nostrils,  and  if  the  larynx  becomes  involved  in  the  downward 
spread  of  the  inflammation,  the  voice  will  become  husky,  and  a  wheezy  inspiration 
and  expiration  produced  and  frequent  irritable  cough.  The  bird  is  not  ill  to  the 
same  degree  as  in  other  conditions,  as  bronchitis  and  pneumonia,  and  takes  its  food. 
It  is  usually  well  in  a  week  or  so.  By  way  of  treatment,  see  that  the  bird  is  not 
exposed  to  draughts  or  excessive  cold,  and  nothing  in  the  way  of  dusty  seed  to 
increase  its  cough.  If  remedy  required,  lo  drops  each  of  glycerine,  sweet  spirit  of 
nitre,  and  20  of  syrup  of  tolu  in  an  ounce  of  water. 
"  ib)  Acute  Bronchitis. — Arises  by  a  downward  spread  of  the  inflammation  to 
the  smaller  bronchial  tubes  as  a  sequence  of  an  ordinary  catarrh,  or  it  may  arise 
primarily  in  the  bronchial  tubes. 
"  The  symptoms  become  exaggerated,  the  bird  is  ill,  feathers  puffed  out ;  it  has 
no  energy  and  moves  little,  and  the  breathing  is  rapid  and  laboured,  and  cough 
distressing  and  frequent,  and  the  noisy  breathing  accentuated.  If  the  amount  of 
secretion  thrown  out  is  much,  so  that  the  tubes  become  blocked,  a  faint  blue  tint  of 
the  beak  will  probably  be  noticed. 
