INTRODUCTORY 
“ HAVE ‘kept’ poultry in every sense of the word,” a 
I friend once remarked to me. There was pathos in his 
voice and a decided emphasis on the word kept. His 
experience was by no means unique. There is a marked difference 
between keeping poultry and being kept by poultry. My friend 
did not suggest that poultry-keeping could not be made profitable. 
As it happened, he knew better than that. The point he tried 
to make was that he had once upon a time bought some fowls, 
put them in a shed, and with the most meagre feeding and atten- 
tion waited for the golden eggs. He is still waiting. 
The point of view of my friend in his first experiment is 
unfortunately not uncommon. Some people have the vaguest 
notion about domestic fowls. They know that they lay eggs, for 
they have eaten them, but they have no notion under what 
conditions eggs are laid. They do not even reflect that any 
special conditions are necessary. If their mental attitude was 
put into words it would run as follows:—‘“‘All birds lay eggs. 
The domestic hen is a bird, therefore we will get a few domestic 
hens and eat their nice new freshly laid eggs every morning.” 
An idyllic picture! 
Such people proceed by looking up an advertisement and buying 
a few hens—any old hens will do; they also get hold of a shed— 
any old shed will do; and they buy food—any old food will do. 
Then they sit down and wait for the eggs. To say they are 
disappointed is to do injustice to their feelings—they are properly 
disillusioned, and if they do not blame the fowls they blame 
the grain merchant. They rarely learn that the fault is with 
themselves. 
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