6 INTRODUCTION 



be well to start with the common breeds characteristic of 

 the community, even though they be mongrels. By com- 

 paring them with some pure breed of birds, the student 

 himself will soon appreciate the good points and advantages 

 of the latter type, and if he detects this difference himself, 

 it will be more permanently fixed in his mind. Starting with 

 the prevailing type, improvement can gradually be brought 

 about, not only in the school flocks, but the home flocks as 

 well. 



The teacher should encourage the student to begin with 

 a very few birds, and then to expand the work as the success 

 of his efforts may warrant. Home practice is the best, 

 especially for the grammar grades. The student should 

 secure the consent of his parents to have a small flock of 

 birds at home, which he may call his own, and with which 

 he can make a trial of the methods learned in his text-book. 

 These home flocks, if given the careful attention of the stu- 

 dent and frequent inspection by the teacher, will serve 

 as object lessons in the community and keep the parents 

 interested. Where there is high school instruction, it is 

 advisable to rear a small flock of birds on or near the high 

 school grounds. The teacher should point out the problems 

 involved, without going into scientific explanations, and in 

 all operations should endeavor to maintain the dignity of 

 the profession. Careful study of the current literature and 

 modern text-books on the subject will better qualify 

 the average teacher to conduct the work satisfactorily, and 

 will keep him hi touch with fresh developments. An effort 

 should be made to correlate poultry instruction with general 

 school work, thus stimulating interest and broadening the 

 opportunities from a purely educational standpoint. The 

 writing of short essays on the subject will also materially 

 strengthen the interest of the student in his work in English. 

 Mathematics, chemistry, physiology, geography and zoology 

 should all be correlated as far as possible with poultry studies. 



