viii INTRODUCTION 



passed the "pin money" stage. Even then, it was not until we 

 learned something about the scientific manner of feeding, breed- 

 ing and housing the fowls that our efforts were assured any 

 degree of success from the standpoint of dollars and cents. We 

 have long known how to keep fowls; but it has been compara- 

 tively recent that we found out how to make the fowls keep us. 



There is money to be made from poultry. There is a living to 

 be made from it, and a good living. Some claim there are for- 

 tunes to be had from hens. The author begs leave to differ 

 with this last statement, or rather to qualify it. Fortunes might 

 be made from chickens if it were possible to look after them, 

 personally, in large enough numbers ; but this is quite out of the 

 question. Very large flocks necessitate the employment of help, 

 and it is the uncertainty or incompetence of this help that makes 

 success with tens of thousands of birds more or less dependent 

 upon chance. 



The author has purposely avoided all reference to "big stories 

 of big profits," likewise the fads and fancies of poultry keeping, 

 which have brought disaster to so many beginners. He has 

 aimed to show that hard work is necessary, that the caretaker 

 must be always on the job, that some of the tasks are not as 

 pleasant as they might be, that common sense is required above 

 theoretical training, that disappointments and mistakes are to 

 be expected, and that it is no get-rich-quick scheme, but a safe, 

 sane, practical business enterprise, and as such it must be con- 

 ducted. Where figures are quoted, especially in respect to profits, 

 if anything the author has been too conservative. These figures, 

 however, are based on prices prevailing before our entrance into 

 the European War. ' Success does not fall into the lap of the 

 poultryman ; he must go out and dig for it. And if he digs hard 

 enough, he is sure to be rewarded. 



As previously inferred, the author has read most of the litera- 

 ture written about poultry, and having found it either obsolete, 

 incomplete or utterly fallacious, he has endeavored to prepare a 

 work that is the most up-to-date, comprehensi\e, practical 

 guide-book of its kind. Economy and efficiency are the under- 



