INTRODUCTION. 



THE following pages originated in an at- 

 tempt to collect and imbody in a methodi- 

 cal form the various notices respecting the 

 treatment of poultry in America, scattered 

 through our various periodical publications. 

 This was made exclusively for my own use. 

 The best works on this subject are in for- 

 eign languages ; those in English being ei- 

 ther mere translations, or meager and inaccu- 

 ate in their details. It was obvious, indeed, 

 that no treatise on this subject adapted to 

 our peculiar position in a country extending 

 through twenty degrees of latitude had been 

 published, and the necessity of an Ameri- 

 can work became apparent. Whether I have 

 rightfully executed the self-imposed task is 

 not for me to determine ; but if the fol- 

 lowing pages, by exciting public attention 

 B 



