PREFACE. 



THIS work owes its origin to the request or advice of some of 

 the most distinguished Poultry Breeders and Fanciers in this 

 country. Among these may be mentioned, John Giles. Esq., of 

 Providence, for many years a judge of the American Institute, 

 and widely known as an importer and breeder of Fowls ; James 

 Pedder, Esq., editor of the Boston Cultivator, distinguished in 

 Europe and America as authority in all matters of Kural Econ- 

 omy ; Wm. Buckminster, Esq., and Win. J. Buckminster, Esq., 

 editors of the Massachusetts Ploughman, names of celebrity in 

 the same department ; and Edward P. Roberts, Esq., the popu- 

 lar editor of the American Farmer, of Baltimore. 



The object which has been kept in view, in this publication, 

 has been to furnish a full, authentic, and reliable work, adapted 

 to meet the demand growing out of the interest recently mani- 

 fested on the subject of Poultry. With the exception of the 

 American Poulterer's Companion, it is believed that no other 

 book, claiming authority, has appeared in this country. Mr 

 Bement deserves a respectful mention of his labors, for they 

 have been the means of diffusing much information and effecting 

 desirable results. Until his book appeared, those interested in 

 rearing domestic fowls were, of necessity, compelled to resort to 

 the works of such foreign authors as might be accessible to 

 them. Among them, Dickson and Richardson have been the 

 most prominent, with the exception, perhaps, of Mowbray. 

 These writers have done valuable service, and to them all their 

 successors must be more or less indebted. They have amassed 

 stores of information, collected from all available sources, and 

 augmented by their original investigations. But, after all, a 



