The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-11-06
SEWAGE CAUSES
DUCK DISEASE
Government Expert Writes to
Warden Chambers, Recon-
mending a Remedy.
WOULD FEED LIME TO
THE SICK WILD FOWLS
Advises Experimenting on Club
Grounds if Such a Plan
Is Feasible.

After making meteorological tests
and investigating the problem thorough
ly, the United States bureau Of an .
industry has written the following re
port to Fred W. Chambers, state fish
and game commissioner, regarding The
sickness of ducks in Utah:
Washington, d. c.. Oct. n. 1910,
AS the result of a conversation will,
DR.. 7. S. Palmer, in charge of game pres
eryation, biological survey. | am led 70
follow my letter OF October % with the
following suggestion with reference to
or at least diminishing. the virulence ol
the duck plague at Salt Lake City.
The failure of this office to find the
fowl cholera organism In the ducks
strued as a denial of the presence and
activity OF that organism In the present
outbreak.
Birds Liable to Infection.
Where coccidiosis has invaded n hocI
Of birds there results such a destruction
of the mucous membrane lining the in
testinal tract that the birds become ex-
posed TO infection by various pathogenic
bacteria more or less commonly found in
the allmentary tract, or to the absorption
OF poisons produced by even non n-disease
producing bacteria normally present Ir
the digestive passages.
Again. such birds would become an
easy prey to pathogenic bacteria or pu-
trefactivc poisons introduced from with
out, especially when their feeding
grounds cover such immense sewage de.
poslts as in the case under considera-
tion.
Thus birds affected with coccidiosis
arc exposed TO auto-infection and auto
intoxication from their own intestinal
tracts. and to Infection and intoXication
from without. Hence you can readily
IL md Il ,ir,Is hf
same localit" might give various positive
bacteriologic findings, or even where In
toxicaton was the immediate cause of
death. negative bacteriologiC results.
Just where the birds pick up the cocci-
dia. would be difficult TO prove. However
1t appears 10 be a logical necessity to in
criminate the sewage deposits or the
feeding grounds. so that the question
naturally arises as to whether any meth
cd of dislnfcction could be tried.
Advises Making Test,
n you have any club grounds that
would make possible an attcmnt 10 disin-
feet a limited area. II might be well
to mako a test Almost all OF our best
disinfcctants are so greatly reduced by
contact with organic material that they
would be absolutely out OF the question
In the conditions that obtain on the
grounds involved
Lime appears TO offer the most hope
OF success. Fresh unslalsed lime. evcn
though it appeared likely that 1t would
sidNe IhpiuIy diltr DflnE spread over. III,
grounds. would In all probability prove a
severe irritant 10 II large number of
birds. -Air-slaked limo is so frequnetIy
hard and lumpy that II would be prac-
ticnlly useless.
Lime that hns been forced 10 slakC
quickly to a powder. and then spread
quickly over the grounds In question
would probably give some very satisfac-
tory results, I believe you would find
1t worth whilo to make the trial
J, r. MOHLER,
Chief Division OF Pathology,