Introduction 



The market is full of poultry books and poultry 

 literature, but many of these works are out of date or 

 have been written by people who know more of theory 

 than of practice. Others, again, have had certain hob- 

 bies to advocate. The amateur, who knows little or 

 nothing about poultry, in reading one or more of the 

 so-called standard works often gets erroneous ideas 

 which prove costly when carried out, so that before 

 learning by experience to keep poultry successfully he 

 either loses much' necessary time and money, or gives 

 up discouraged. The author, who claims to be only a 

 practical poultryman, has no theories to advance, no 

 hobbies to ride. He has aimed, in preparing this work, 

 to draw largely from the experience of practical poul- 

 try keepers and to present a brief hand-book of poul- 

 try keeping, which will be a safe and convenient guide 

 for those who keep a few or many fowls. That he has 

 succeeded in this, even in a small way, is very gratify- 

 ing and the words of commendation from those who 

 have read the first edition show that the way to profit- 

 able poultry keeping has been pointed out to many 

 amateurs. 



