PREFACE. 
Tue exceedingly large and ever-increasing demand for poultry 
and poultry products, at home and for export, has caused the 
poultry business to become so profitable, when conducted upon a 
scientific basis, that no breeder can afford to lack the latest knowl- 
edge of best methods in all its branches. 
A number of poultry books have appeared during the past few 
years in response to an insistent demand, some dealing with special 
branches, others covering the entire subject in a general way. But 
the great need in poultry literature is for a work which covers the 
subject in a thoroughly scientific yet practical manner, treating 
each branch in sufficient detail to give entire clarity, and giving 
to the reader the results of research at the various experiment 
stations and the methods that are most successful in present-day 
practice. 
Such a book has been the aim of the author. In its prepara- 
tion there has been an earnest effort to help build the foundation 
for a systematic, scientific, and greater poultry industry. 
The book contains in a systematic and abbreviated form the 
practices and experiences of the author as student, practical poul- 
tryman and teacher, together with the teachings of our leading col- 
leges, experiment stations, and authorities on poultry husbandry. 
Of all live-stock, the poultry flock is most often misunderstood 
and poorly cared for. In recent years much attention has been 
given to a special study of the needs of poultry, in order to secure 
reliable data on the subject. It is largely due to this awakening 
that the poultry industry of America is bounding ahead in such 
rapid strides. Remember that in the report of the Secretary of 
Agriculture for 1905, the total value of poultry products in the 
United States was estimated at five hundred million dollars. In 
1907 it had risen to over six hundred million dollars, and in 1910 
it was equal to cotton and was next to corn, which is the leading 
agricultural product. This rapid increase in production, accom- 
panied by a more rapidly increasing demand for home consumption 
and export, necessitates a better knowledge of requirements under- 
lying production and marketing. 
With these conditions in mind, the text has been written to aid 
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