Post Mortem licpori.^. 
239 
Post-Mortem Reports. 
( Vi.le iiiileis). 
Fur repllcf hi/ post, a fee of 2x. 6(1. must he sent; thix rule irill not he 
■. hrolceii iiiitlfir ati;/ condition. 
Post- Mortem Reports can onli/ appear in next issue irheii hodies are recei red 
hy Mr. (Iraij prior to the 31st of any month. 
It inotdd ijre.alli/ help me to elucidate contagious diseases in hirds if mem- 
bers of F. P.O. irere i/t .'sending me dead birds to state the source they obtained 
the birds from and u-heii. The names of the sellers would be kept a secret. 
Red-crested Cardinal ? (A. V. Johnson, Southport). The cause of 
death was septic or bird fever. The liver and spleen were very much 
enlarged and contained innumerable small yellowish nodular looking bodies. 
You must thoroughly wash, scrape, and disinfect your aviary, utensils, etc., 
and take care none of the living birds, although apparently well, do not 
keep up the disease. Disinfection is useless to prevent the spread of the 
malady unless all the birds containing the germs are got rid of. One cannot 
say when a bird is free from it. In an out-door aviary it runs a slower 
course than in an in-door bird-room, where it spreads i-apidly and eventually 
kills off most, if not all, the avian inmates. Food has nothing to do with the 
complaint unless the disease be introduced b.v eggs from fowls that have had 
the disease. Experimental enq^uiry has shown that eggs of birds having had 
diseyjse may contain the germs. It is so with tuberculosis, bird cholera, 
septip fever, etp..,.^ The question arises how long may a disease remain dor- 
mant in the system. Recent experience has lead investigators to conclude 
that infection may in certain instances remain in the system weeks, months, 
or years, without the bearer showing any signs of disease but still quite 
capable of giving off the germs, and infecting sound animals or people. As 
to disinfection, many of the so-called disinfectants are worthless especially 
if they have a strong odour and are well guaranteed (?) The best are : fire, 
sunlight, super-heated steam, boiling water, the scrubbing brush and plenty 
of water and soap mixed with elbow grease. Of course, some of the agents 
just mentioned are impracticable in an aviary. A reliable and cheap disin- 
fectant for wood-work after it has been scraped, scrubbed, and washed, is 
the crude carbolic or crysilic acid painted on the wood. It will destroy or 
render inert the diseased germs. The acid should not be diluted but used 
just as purchased Some people won't admit they have the disease in their 
aviaries v,\>)n they really have it. 
Bullfinch ? (The Countess C. von Hahn, Wimbledon). The cause of 
death was j)neuinonia and enteritis. It is a condition common in these birds 
especially during inclement, changeable, or chilly weather, and the 
moulting season. 
Golden-breasted Waxbill (L. Peacock, Sidcup, Kent). The cause of 
death was a chill, due nu (h^ubt to exposure to the inclement weather we 
have experienced this summer before the bird was thoroughly acclimatised. 
Cold of it.self is not so injurious as wet chilly weather. Always endeavour 
to put foreign birds out into the open in settled weather. The Waxbills are 
relatively more delicate than the Maunikins and Weavers. One usually 
loses a very great number of birds before one learns wisdom, which is only 
