INTRODUCTION 



after several disappointing^ experiences of poul- 

 trymen the stock was gradually reduced, and 

 towards the end of the 'seventies the remainder 

 disposed of to Mr. C. E. Perry, Wollaston, Mass., 

 U.S.A. It is needless to say, to any of those 

 who read " The Extinction of the Brahma," in 

 1893, that Mr. Wright thought the tendency 

 for breeding to extremes, in fancy points, 

 a dangerous one, and though always a staunch 

 upholder of the fancier against those opponents 

 who say that that individual has done nothing 

 for poultry generally, yet deplored the fact tiiat 

 of late years less and less attention had been 

 paid to the maintenance of the useful qualities 

 of many of the varieties originally pre-eminent 

 in this respect. 



In October, 1900, was issued the first part of 

 "The New Book of Poultry,'" a work which 

 entailed the complete rewriting of 

 "The New tlie older book, so great had been 

 Poultry" the changes and developments 



in fancy poultry since its first 

 publication. To this, Mr. Wright brought that 

 same wonderful command of detail and ability 

 to press home salient points which, together 

 with systematic and scientific arrangement, had 

 placed his former treatise ahead of any con- 

 temporary work on the subject. In April, 1902, 

 despite business discouragements that would 

 have broken the heart of many a man, Lewis 

 Wright was able to write "Jhiis " to a book that 

 will live long in the memory of fanciers, and 

 especially to the many who, like the writer, were 

 concerned in its production. During this period 

 Mr. Lewis Wright edited T//e Poultry Club 

 Standards, and contributed the article on 

 Poultry to " The Encyclopaedia Britannica." 



As a recognition of his services to the Poultry 

 Fancy, at the International Show in December, 

 1 90 1, the unique compliment was 

 Presentation paid Mr. Wright of a presentation 

 Fanciers and dinner in his honour. No better 



summing up of Mr. Wright's work 

 can be given than the following extract from 

 the illuminated address presented on this 

 occasion. It states : " You introduced a new 

 spirit into the poultry world, and lifted the 

 entire pursuit on to a higher plane than it had 

 occupied before. Others have continued the 

 work }'ou began, but yours were the hand and 



brain which opened a new era in poultry journal- 

 ism. Your constant advocacy of true principles 

 in breeding, your earnest support of pure breeds 

 when first introduced, and your fearless exposure 

 of fraud, wherever found, have done much to 

 strengthen and purify the exhibition world and 

 to make the path of the wrong-doer more 

 difficult. For this we owe a debt which can 

 never be adequately acknowledged." 



During 1900, whilst closing his connection 

 with Cassell and Co., prior to his return to Bristol 

 to take up editorial work with his 

 Other brother's firm, Messrs. John Wright 



Activities and Co., Mr. Lewis Wright assisted 

 mj- wife in the editorial work of The 

 Feathered World. In Bristol, his work was 

 largely connected with the supervision of the 

 many medical books published by his brothers. 

 In 1904 was commenced a slight revision of 

 " The New Book of Poultry," which was com- 

 pleted shortly before Mr. Wright's death. 



It was in 1877 that as a boy fresh from school, 

 entering the great publishing house of Cassell, 

 I first met Lewis Wright, and after that we 

 were constantly associated in our work. I have 

 dwelt necessarily in this note upon the side 

 of his life work that relates chiefly to the 

 subject of this boolc ; but in other circles 

 Lewis Wright was equally well known. He 

 was a' member of the London Physical Society, 

 knownamongst scientists as the authorof "Light" 

 and " Optical Projection," as well as for his mica 

 preparations illustrating polarised light, and also 

 as the inventor of the projection microscope now 

 in use at most of our scientific institutions. He 

 was also a contributor to theological literature, his 

 most important work. The Cross of Our Lord, 

 being left in MS. at the time of his death and 

 since published by Messrs. Nisbet. 



Such is the bare outline of the busy, strenuous 

 life — suddenly cut short in December, iqo5, by 

 accident when crossing the line at Saltford 

 Station to catch a train — led by one who, whilst 

 passing generally as an extremely reserved man, 

 hid under that exterior a fund of dry humour and 

 kindliness, and, above all, a high fi.xity of moral 

 purpose, which helped to the accomplishment of 

 splendid work under conditions of health and 

 other anxieties that would have crushed a 

 weaker temperament. 



