CHICKASHA, chik'-a-shi, Okla., city and county-seat of Grady County, on the Rock Is land, The Frisco Oklahoma Central and Santa Fe railroads. The city has an altitude of 1,100 feet above sea-level, has a delightful climate and an abundance of good water. Grady County is ideal for the raising of wheat, corn, cotton, alfalfa, fruits and stock, and the rapid growth of the city is due to the extent and value of the agricultural crops. The commercial busi ness interests of Chickasha are large and grow ing rapidly. The city has three large cotton gins, two of the largest cottonseed-oil mills in Oklahoma, the plants being among the largest in the world, one of the largest cotton com presses in the South, the only cotton-oil re finery in State, large flour-mills and elevators, 33 wholesale manufacturing and commission houses. The United States census of manu factures for 1914 reported 29 industrial estab lishments, employing 430 persons, of whom 337 were wage earners, receiving annually $235,000 in wages. The capital invested aggregated $1,315,000, and the year's output was valued at $1,720,000; of this, $443,000 was added by manufacture. The large railroad machine shops located here employ nearly 1,000 persons. Chickasha is the largest stock feeding and cot ton concentration point in the State. There are five banks with a combined capital and surplus of $670,000. Chickasha has an admirable school system, many fine churches, a Carnegie library, a Federal building costing $150,000 and is the home of the Oklahoma College for Women. The city owns and operates its own water system. Pop. (1910) 10,320; (1914) 13,873.
the common name of Sarcopsylla gallinacea, a pest of young chickens in tropical and subtropical regions, and destruc tive from Florida to Texas. It is smaller and shorter than the cat-flea, with the eyes and antenna in the higher part of the head, and it does not hop. It abounds mostly in shady
places, under old houses, and in earthen floors. It is first observed to infest young chickens and turkeys, and by its number and pertinacity kills young chickens, while being more or less per manently parasites on hens. See JIGGER; SARCO PSYLLA.
several species of bird lice (Mallophoga), or louse-like wingless in sects, afflicting chickens and hens. Unlike the louse (Pediculus), which obtains its nourish ment by suction, the bird-lice have free jaws adapted for cutting feathers, though they also draw blood from the skin of their host. The large chicken-louse (Goniocotes abdominalis) is less common than the lesser chicken-louse (G. hologaster); it is only one millimeter long, while the first-named kind is three millimeters long. Quite a different kind is the common hen-louse (Menopon pallidum), which is the most abundant and annoying of all. It differs from the others in its light color and greater activity, running among the feathers and from them upon the hands of persons handling fowls. It is from one to one and a half millimetres long, rather slender and of a pale straw-yellow color. Fowls should be allowed plenty of ashes and road dust in which to roll. An infested hennery should be Well fumigated and white washed, and insect-powder should be dusted upon the birds themselves.
or a small mite (Dermanyssus gallince) 'which gathers on fowls at night and sucks their blood. It is about one millimetre high, light gray, with dark patches, but red when gorged with blood.
It swarms in cracks and corners of the hen house and should not be confounded with the bird tick (D. avium),