LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 359 



SECTION LVIII (A). POULTRY. 



By PROF. D. J. LAMBERT, 

 Department of Poultry Husbandry, Rhode Island State College. 



Importance of Poultry. The poultry industry is 

 much more important than is generally supposed. Ac- 

 cording to the Secretary of the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, eggs and poultry produced on the 

 farms of the United States for the year 1908, were 

 worth as much as the cotton crop, seed included, or the 

 hay crop, or the wheat crop. 



Breeds, Classes and Varieties. There are fifty-five 

 different breeds of poultry recognized by the American 

 Poultry Association as worthy of a place in the Stand- 

 ard of Perfection. This book contains a complete de- 

 scription of all of these breeds, and is revised every 

 five years to make changes and admit worthy new- 

 comers. The fifty-five breeds are divided into four- 

 teen classes. Each class has individual characteristics 

 peculiar to the family to which they belong. Some 

 classes contain but one breed, while others have several. 

 Of some breeds there is only one variety, while others 

 have from two to eight. There are one hundred and 

 and twenty-eight standard varieties, including fowls, 

 ducks, geese and turkeys. 



Classes. The following are the classes. I. Ameri- 

 can. 2. Asiatic. 3. Mediterranean. 4. English. 

 5. Polish. 6. Hamburg (Dutch) . 7. French. 8. 

 Games and Game Bantams. 9. Oriental Game and 

 Bantam Class. 10. Ornamental Bantam Class, n. 

 Miscellaneous. 12. Turkey Class. 13. Duck Class. 

 14. Goose Class. 



Types of Chickens. The first eleven classes may be 

 further divided into four types, namely: The General 

 Purpose Type, The Meat Type, The Egg Type and 

 The Ornamental Type. 



The General Purpose Type is the medium size, busi- 

 ness-like hen, originally a cross between the egg and 



