1510 
lb* RURAL NEW-YORKER 
October It, 191o 
Poultry and Livestock 
Keeping the Henyard Free from 
Parasites 
Lick. —Almost every, if not all. species 
'of animal is affected with one or more 
species of lice, and indeed the hen is no 
exception, for there are several kinds that 
attack her. The louse is a small insect, 
the largest being about an eighth of an 
inch long. They lay their eggs on the 
base of the quill, in large numbers; in a 
week or less they hatch out. and in three 
weeks these young insects are themselves 
laying eggs; so one can see that they mul¬ 
tiply readily and rapidly. Lice do not 
suck the blood from chickens or hens, but 
live on the dry skin and feathers, and 
will eat clotted blood from wounds. On 
young chickens they cause considerable 
annoyance and oftentimes death; on 
adult birds the amount of injury done 
by lice is difficult to determine, owing to 
the presence of mites or some disease of 
the fowl; there may be only a few on the 
bird or there may be thousands. Of 
course, the more there are. the more irri¬ 
tation will be set up; even if there are 
only a few today they will multiply, and 
in a short time there will be hundreds, 
so that once the presence of lice has been 
detected, steps should be taken imme¬ 
diately to get rid of them. 
Control Measures. —A great deal of 
time, labor and money would be saved 
by the poultryinan. if he would bear this 
fact in mind: The action of dusting 
powder, no matter how good, is only tem¬ 
porary. That is, it may rid the birds of 
lice for a week, but soon after the eggs 
hatch out and you have a new lot. Where 
the hen can take a dust bath whenever 
she chooses each new batch of lice can be 
come out at night, crawl onto the fowls 
and suck their blood. They cause a great 
deal more trouble to the hens than lice; 
often a sitting hen will be driven from her 
nest of eggs by these pests. When present 
in any great, numbers they give off a 
disagreeable odor, characteristic of them, 
and when one becomes familiar with this 
odor their presence can be easily detected, 
and a search in the cracks and crevices 
soon reveals their hiding place. 
Destroying the Pests. —Dusting 
powders are useless in eradicating mites. 
To reach the birds they must crawl over 
the perches and blocks supporting them : 
these then must be the places to apply 
the remedy. Crude oil proves an effective 
remedy, although most of the oily coal tar 
bv-nroducts are useful in combating mites. 
The liquid should be applied with a brush, 
and care 'must be taken not to spatter 
it on the skin or clothing, for it burns as 
well as stains. Paint underneath the 
perches and the sides about one-half or 
three-quarters of an inch up; more than 
this will burn the birds’ feet. Paint all 
supports to the perches and all ways of 
possible travel from the back and sides 
of the house to the perches. Whenever 
possible, do this two or three days before 
the birds are to be put in the house. If 
the birds are to use the perches the same 
night it is better to dilute the oil with 
kerosene, usually about equal parts of 
each.. This not only keeps the mites away 
but is also a preservative of the wood. 
When the clear product is used one ap¬ 
plication each year is usually sufficient 
to control the mites; when the diluted 
oil is applied at least two applications 
should be made each year, although in 
both cases it will depend upon the thor¬ 
oughness with which the job is done. In 
colony brooder houses paint the four cor¬ 
ners and all around the floor where the 
siding joins the floor. This method of 
getting rid and staying rid of mites will 
bring the desired results and at the same 
time it is not expensive and it is easy to 
apply; furthermore, it saves spraying the 
house more than once a year. 
Scaly Leg Mite.—S caly legs in fowls 
are caused by a vei’y small mite, much 
smaller than the roost mite. They bur¬ 
row under the scales of the fowl's leg and 
suck out large quantities of blood. They 
eat only a little of this blood; the re¬ 
mainder hardens and raises the scales up¬ 
ward and outward. Of course this causes 
the fowl considerable annoyance, and the 
trouble soon spreads to the other fowls 
in the flock, unless measures are taken 
to control the outbreak. As soon as a 
bird is detected suffering from scaly leg 
take it away from the rest of the flock. 
Prof. II. R. Lewis of the New Jersey 
Experiment Station recommends crude 
petroleum to be used on the legs, and 
frequent applications of vaseline; Prof. 
O. II. Lamson of the Stores Experiment 
Station found that the best remedy was 
a mixture of one part caraway oil and 
four parts of lard. Sulphur ointment also 
proved beneficial; this was made by mix¬ 
ing one part of sulphur to nine parts of 
lard by weight. Roth of the above reme¬ 
dies were applied after the birds’ legs had 
been soaked in warm soapy water. Clean 
houses and yards and plenty of sunshine 
are important factors in keeping the hen- 
yard free from parasites. 
Connecticut. p. ir. iiorton. 
Forage Poisoning 
Several years ago we had a cow and 
heifer taken suddenly sick in the month 
of July, while out to pasture, in the same 
field where they had been for some time. 
In time they got all right, although the 
heifer got quite poor in flesh. After 
events make it look as if this was a case 
of poisoning. In the following month of 
October I had three fine horses suddenly 
attacked with what the farmers call 
spinal meningitis, and the veterinarians 
call forage poisoning, but is really pto¬ 
maine poisoning, from a peculiar kind of 
mold. The symptoms are a complete 
breakdown of the nervous system, with 
paralysis. They try to eat. but cannot 
swallow, and get down, never to get up 
again. All three were attacked practical¬ 
ly all at once, two getting down the same 
evening, the other one later. All were in 
excellent condition, fat and spirited as 
usual before the attack. The fact that 
they were all attacked at once indicated 
poisoning, since they were all out at pas¬ 
ture, and had been for two weeks or more, 
and had received no grain or hay in this 
time. If they had forage poisoning they 
would have been almost sure to be at¬ 
tacked one after another; certainly not all 
at once. I have learned from the New 
Jersey Experiment Station that, certain 
drugs will produce symptoms of forage 
poisoning, and our present veterinarian 
says that strychnine and arsenic in small 
doses will both produce the symptoms of 
forage poisoning. There lived with us at 
the time we lost the horses and the cow 
and heifer were taken sick a man who was 
very cranky and had a wicked disposition. 
Recently he died, and in his trunk was 
found a vial containing a white powder. 
The vial is partly empty, has no label on 
it. but it has a white cord wound around 
the mouth and tied. It has the appear¬ 
ance of being carried, for the cord is 
soiled. I wish to know if it is arsenic, 
for this drug will paralyze when given in 
small doses. This man had no use what¬ 
ever for poison, and if this powder is 
poison he must have had it for some bad 
purpose. We are anxious to know wheth¬ 
er this powder is* a poison or not. We 
tried to get this powder analyzed, but the 
charge, $.‘10, is more than we can afford, 
for there is no profit in it; the only thing 
in it is the satisfaction to get a clue to 
what the horses died with and who did it. 
Could you tell me of a reliable test for 
arsenic? e. a. n. 
New Jersey. 
Arsenic does not cause poisoning or 
paralysis if given in minute doses. A 
form of rickets might follow the pro¬ 
longed contamination of grass by lead and 
arsenic fumes from a smelter, but such 
cases are readily traced to their source. 
Arsenic is given right along to horses in 
the form of Fowler’s solution, and plumps 
the animal instead of causing paralysis. 
Strychnine, however, causes spasms and 
paralysis much like the symptoms caused 
■by forage poisoning, and the powder you 
describe may be that poison. To test 
that catch some rats in a wire cage trap, 
and give them a little of the powder in 
any feed they will eat. It may be stated 
with confidence, however, that poisoning 
on purpose is extremely rare, and cases 
such as you describe usually may be 
traced to some other cause, such as moldy 
silage thrown into the stock yard, or some 
other damaged feed to which the animals 
gain access without being noticed. 
A. 8.A. 
suffocated. There are many dusting pow¬ 
ders on the market for use in killing 
lice, but to be effective the process must 
be repeated every two weeks. Neither 
the poultryinan with his large flock, nor 
the farm or backyard poultry-keeper, lias 
the time for such methods. An effective 
and cheap remedy, and one that is easy 
to apply, is a mixture of mercurial oint¬ 
ment and vaseline; equal parts by weight 
are mixed thoroughly, put in a can and 
labeled, so that it will be used for nothing 
else. These two ingredients are not ex¬ 
pensive and may be purchased at any 
drug store. In applying take a piece 
about the size of a pea on the end of the 
finger; separate the feathers about one 
inch below the vent and apply the mix¬ 
ture; rub it in just enough to make, it 
stick, but no more or the skin of the bird 
will be burned. Two applications a year 
usually prove sufficient, although three 
is better and safer. It is a good plan to 
make an application when the birds are 
put in the laying house in the Fall and 
another in the Spring, and if a third ap¬ 
plication is needed, give the entire flock 
a dose early in the Summer. Of course, 
no definite rule as to time and number of 
applications can be made; the birds 
should be treated ffe needed. 
Care With Chicks. —It is dangerous 
to use mercurial ointment on chicks less 
than eight weeks old, but after they get 
to be this old an attack of lice may be 
controlled by this mixture. Better results 
are obtained if part is applied to the vent 
and part underneath the wing. If a bad 
attack of head lice occurs on chickens, 
a mixture of equal parts of mercurial 
ointment, lard and vaseline applied to 
the head and neck will usually prove ef¬ 
fective. There are three cases where the 
use of mercurial ointment should be 
avoided. Sitting hens or hens that are 
brooding little chicks should never be 
treated with this remedy; in the first case 
the eggs will not hatch and in the second, 
severe burns and usually death will occur. 
Birds that are to be sent to fairs or to 
other exhibits should not be treated with 
mercurial ointment, for it. gives the bird 
a very soiled appearance; nevertheless 
upon their return they should receive such 
treatment. In these cases a good dusting 
powder should be used. It cannot be 
brought out too strongly nor too em¬ 
phatically that the results in using mer¬ 
curial ointment are lasting, Avhile the ef¬ 
fects of any dusting powder can only be 
temporary. 
Mites.’ —The poultry mite, often called 
the roost mite, is a small troublesome 
animal. Although usually called an insect 
it is not, but belongs to the class of 
animals called “Arachnida”; the spiders 
and ticks are members of this class. To 
the casual observer they appear to be an 
insect, much the same as the whale is 
called a fish, while in reality it is a mam¬ 
mal. The mite is a sucking animal and 
draws considerable blood from the hen; 
they do their feeding at night, and so they 
are not easily found unless one hunts for 
them diligently. To search for them on 
the hens during the day is useless, for 
they live in the corners and cracks of the 
house, or underneath the perches in the 
cracks, out of sight and away from the 
light. After hiding away all day they 
»v\ 
Out One Cow 
Two Sacks of Larro-feed Must Increase Her 
Milk Yield or You Get Your Money Back 
Pick out one cow—any cow you choose—and let the gain in her milk yield 
prove the Larro-feed guarantee. 
First carefully record the production of the cow for a week. Next begin to give 
her Larro-feed (slowly at first allowing her a week to gradually make the 
change) and after that make another record of her production—comparing the 
total with the figure established before you started feeding Larrol 
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If you aren’t (retting more milk than you were 
before or if fyr any other reason you are dis¬ 
satisfied take the two empty sacks back to 
your dealer and your money will be refund¬ 
ed immediately. 
This Guarantee Has Stood Back 
of Larro-feed for Seven Years 
This is the same guarantee of more milk 
which has stood back of Larro-feed for seven 
years. To the man who is not yet a Larro 
user it is an absolute promise of better results 
from his cows—to the veteran Larro user it 
is double assurance that Larro-feed today is 
the same us it was it the beginning—that 
its quality will never be changed. 
You get more milk with Larro-feed because 
it isn’t a one-sided ration, but a nutritious, 
balanced lood. 
The cows like Larro-feed because it's pala¬ 
table-tastes so good —and it's so digestible 
that an unusually high percentage is utilized 
in actual milk production. 
See the Larro-feed Dealer at Once 
The Larro-feed guarantee means just what 
it says—you get more milk or Money Back— 
and the Larro dealer is ready to supply you 
at once. No matter how much milk your 
cows are producing on their present ration, 
Larro-feed is guaranteed to make them pro¬ 
duce more. If your local dealer does not 
have Larro-feed In stock write us for complete 
information. 
The Larrowe Milling Co., 601 Larrowe Bldg., Detroit, U. S. A. 
DEALERS: The same 
guarantee which 
assures more milk for 
your customers means 
more sales for you. 
Write for detailed 
proposition. 
^* RANJ ^ 
LARROWE 
PRODUCTS 
THE READY RATION FOR DAIRY COWS 
