The valuation of poultry flocks

As flocks of laying birds are seldom sold in situ, it is necessary to value such flocks by estimating the sum for which a rational farmer would sell. It is argued that this is the sum for which the farmer would exchange the future consumption increments flowing from possession of the flock. The valuation method which follows the acceptance of this argument is applied to a standard (British) flock to derive a set of standard values for birds of different ages.     

Development of Trypanosoma congolense, T vivax and T brucei in the skin reaction induced in goats by infected Glossina morsitans centralis: a light and electron microscopical study

The development and distribution of Trypanosoma congolense, T vivax and T brucei in the skin of goats was examined after the animals were bitten by infected Glossina morsitans centralis. Following the tsetse bite, the trypanosomes in the skin multiplied, reaching maximum numbers when the skin reaction (chancre) of the host attained its maximum size. In goats infected with T vivax and T brucei, trypanosomes were observed circulating in the blood before the peak of the chancre, while in T congolense-infected goats microscopically detectable parasites were found in blood only during the decline of the chancre. In contrast to T vivax, large numbers of T congolense and T brucei parasites were found in the skin following tsetse-transmitted infection. Ultrastructural differences were observed in T congolense and T brucei indicating an intracutaneous transformation from metacyclic to blood stream forms. T congolense forms in the skin reactions had a well developed secretory reticulum, small mitochondria and lacked large lipid inclusions compared to metacyclic and blood stream forms. The intracutaneous forms of T brucei had smaller mitochondria, the glycosomes were of more uniform size and the rough endoplasmic reticulum was less developed than in metacyclic or blood stream forms.     

Effects of dichlorvos on lymphocyte reactivity during pregnancy in the pig

This experiment was performed utilizing a total of 21 primiparous crossbred sows to determine whether a state of immunological suppression occurs during the latter stages of pregnancy in the pig and whether dichlorvos treatment affects immunological function of sows. Immunological reactivity was monitored by the use of in vitro lymphocyte transformation experiments employing the mitogens phytohemagglutinin (PHA), concanavalin A (Con A), pokeweed mitogen (PWM) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The degree of blastogenesis of lymphocytes recovered from animals on this experiment was not affected by dichlorvos treatment. Blastogenesis was not affected by stage of pregnancy except in the case of that induced by LPS, which decreased (P less than .05) with advancing pregnancy. Sera from animals in this experiment were tested in a PHA-induced lymphocyte transformation experiment and it was found that sera from control animals were not inhibitory at any time. On the other hand, sera from dichlorvos-treated sows inhibited (P less than .01) PHA-induced blastogenesis. The possibility exists that dichlorvos may increase fetal survival by inhibiting the ability of the sow to immunologically damage the fetus.