Our  Canaries 
129 
"  The  bird  should  be  kept  in  a  room  where  the  temperature  is  between  60 
and  70  degrees,  where  the  air  is  fresh  and  free  from  dust  or  vapours  of  oil  stoves 
and  tobacco.  It  is  advisable  to  give  only  egg  food  and  maw  seed,  as  the  powers  of 
digestion  are  lowered  with  the  general  depression  of  the  system,  and  such  a  diet  is 
more  easily  assimilated. 
'*  To  the  mixture  suggested  for  catarrh  10  drops  of  Ipecacuanha  wine  may 
with  advantage  be  added,  and  in  the  bad  cases,  with  blue  tint  of  beak  which 
may  indicate  commencing  heart  failure,  10  drops  of  whiskey  or  brandy  may 
be  also  added. 
*'  (c)  Pneumonia  or  Inflammation  of  the  Lungs. — An  acute  infection,  inflammation 
of  the  lung  tissue.  The  onset  is  sudden,  and  it  produces  a  great  depression  of 
the  system,  and  the  sufferer  is  seriously  ill.  The  breathing  is  rapid  and 
embarrassed,  occasional  cough,  but  not  the  amount  of  discharge  as  in  a  cold. 
As  the  inflammatory  process  advances  the  lung  tissue  becomes  solid  with 
exudation,  and  this  limits  the  available  breathing  space,  and  the  deficient  air 
entry  does  not  allow  of  proper  oxygenation  of  the  blood,  and  the  blue  tint  of 
the  beak  becomes  marked.  In  from  four  to  seven  days  the  bird  dies  or  gets 
well,  and  the  rational  treatment  is  by  stimulants  (as  the  days  go  on),  to  keep 
the  heart  acting  till  the  inflammation  has  reached  its  highest  point.  A  similar 
mixture  can  be  given  as  for  bronchitis,  with  addition  of  10  drops  of  oxymel  of 
squills.    Egg  food,  maw  seed  and  milk  sop  desirable. 
"  {d)  Chronic  Bronchitis. — May  be  a  sequel  to  a  and  b.  The  cough  and 
wheezing  do  not  clear  up,  but  remain  always  present,  the  victim  not  being  ill, 
but  never  quite  as  brisk  as  it  should  be,  and  there  is  loss  of  voice.  It  is 
frequently  associated  with  asthma,  and  may  for  practical  purposes  be  con- 
sidered a  part  of  it. 
"  [e)  Asthma. — This  is  a  condition  in  which  the  chief  difficulty  is  in  expira- 
tion. The  air  enters  the  lungs  readily  enough,  but  there  is  obstruction  to  its 
exit.  There  is  a  spasm  of  muscles  of  the  air  tubes,  together  with  some  amount 
of  mucous  secretion.  In  order  to  drive  the  air  from  the  chest  extra  play  is 
brought  to  bear  on  the  abdominal  respiratory  muscles,  and  it  will  be  noticed 
that  at  each  attempt  to  empty  the  chest  the  abdomen  is  raised  and  the  tail 
depressed.  This  rises  again  during  inspiration,  so  there  is  a  movement  of  the 
tail  which  resembles  that  of  a  pump  handle. 
"Asthma  is  most  in  evidence  at  night,  and  in  many  cases  it  is  not  discovered 
until  the  owner  goes  round  the  bird-room  with  a  light  to  discover  the  delinquent, 
which  gives  evidence  of  its  presence,  even  in  the  dark,  by  the  whistling  sound 
produced  by  the  passage  of  the  air  through  the  narrowed  air  tubes.  In  bad 
cases  the  condition  is  present  during  the  day  as  well,  but  it  is  desirable  to 
know,  by  a  nightly  visit  to  the  bird-room,  if  any  of  one's  stock  is  asthmatic 
in  a  milder  degree.    The  casual  observer  who  only  sees  his  birds  by  daylight 
