CHAPTER IV 



FOWLS 



The most useful of all birds is the common fowl, seen on 

 almost every farm and in the back yards of many city and village 

 homes. The fowl takes 

 to the conditions of do- 

 mestic life better than 

 any other land bird. It 

 is more cleanly in its 

 habits, more productive, 

 more intelligent, and 

 more interesting than 

 the duck, which ranks 

 next in usefulness. 

 Fowls supply nearly all 

 the eggs and the 

 greater part of the 

 poultry meat that we 

 use. Their feathers are 

 of less value than those 

 of ducks, geese, and 

 turkeys. In the days 

 when feather beds were 

 common they were 

 made usually of the 

 body feathers of fowls. 

 Now the feathers of fowls are used mostly for the cheaper 

 grades of pillows and cushions, and in the making of feather 

 boas and like articles. The wing and tail feathers have been 



31 



FIG. 12. Pet fowls White Wyandottes and 



Game Bantams. (Photograph from Dr. J. C. 



Paige, Amherst, Massachusetts) 



