PART I. 



INTRODUCTION. 



LMr()l{TA>;CE OF TllK I-OILTUV lXl)b>?TKY. 



The proiliirlitiu uf ej;<;s And iioiiUiv is vm- of the 

 lUDSt iDipoitiiiit branches of agrifiiltiu-e. To those who 

 have not given this subject especial attention, the state- 

 ment that the ai.myil poultry products of the United 

 States are equal in value to the wheat cro)), may ap 

 peiU" something startling. 



According to a recent estimate of the American Agri- 

 culturist, based on the last census and on an extensive 

 iH(iuiry, the niin,ber of fowls in the Fnited States is 

 alxnit :'.sn(tO().000: these produce 1 .Ul.OOO.OOO dozen 

 eggs eacli year, and the value of both amounls to |H43,- 

 ()(irt,()00,(}0. 



Pennsylvania is one of the leading states in the pro- 

 duction of poultry. According to the same authority, 

 there are in this State 15.3(7,000 fowls of all sorts— 

 rurkeys, geese, ducks and chickens — valued at 18,230,- 

 000, and these produce 08,818,000 dozen eggs each year 

 wo:-th, at 20 cents jier dozen, |;i.3,7(i3,(!00, making a 

 total value for poultry and eggs of about .f 22,000,- 

 000.00. 



At a very conservative estimate, one-tenth of the 

 poultry, young anrl nhl, is carried away by disease eadi 

 year. Hence the importance of this subject is niani 

 fest. ( 9 ) 



1*-I 



