viii PREFACE 



all those interested in every phase of the industry. The book 

 offers, to the student and teacher of poultry husbandry, a complete, 

 concise, systematic course of lessons, commencing with a brief 

 introduction outlining methods of teaching poultry husbandry. 

 The main text opens with a discussion of poultry farming, its 

 opportunities and requirements, the types and systems, methods 

 of starting in the business, and an analysis of foreign poultry con- 

 ditions. The breeds of poultry are classified and their uses given; 

 methods of management are recommended, including housing, 

 feeding, breeding, and all phases of hatching and rearing. 



Every phase of marketing is analyzed and improved methods 

 are recommended. Suggestions are given on the subjects of exhib- 

 iting, judging, advertising, and the keeping of records. In dis- 

 cussing methods of management the principles underlying the 

 operations are first given; this is followed with a few of the most 

 successful practices. Illustrations are freely but carefully used to 

 bring out important features. 



In the hands of the commercial poultryman the book affords a 

 large field for study, because it points out the practices which 

 prove to be most efficient on large, successful plants, and because 

 it outlines methods which are recommended by experiment stations 

 in the various States and by the Federal Government. By making 

 free use of the index, the poultryman can quickly find information 

 pertaining to almost any point about which he might wish to 

 know. In case of disease, improper feeding, or environmental con- 

 ditions, the information might be of inestimable value. 



To the farm poultryman the text clearly pictures methods 

 which would enable the keeping of more birds with no more labor 

 and a much increased profit. The methods given, if practised, 

 would enable the average farmer to keep from two hundred to 

 five hundred birds, as a " side line " to general farm operations, 

 and realize a handsome revenue. 



The text is so arranged that it will meet the needs for system- 

 atic reading courses, for farmers' clubs, poultry associations, and 

 granges. 



The review questions at the end of each chapter are for the 

 use of students in preparing for recitations, for the instructor in 

 conducting reviews, and for the practical poultryman in grasping 

 the fundamental points in the discussion. Reference lists are given 

 at the close of many of the chapters. Most of the references are 

 to Federal and State publications which can be obtained free of 



