PREFACE 



Many books have been written on general poultry keep- 

 ing and the various branches of that industry. It seems, 

 however, that no attempt has been made to present the 

 fundamental principles and essentials in a manner and within 

 a compass that will make a book both adequate and prac- 

 tical for student and poultry keeper aUke. 



It wiU be the effort of the authors to present the basic 

 principles and practices of poultry keeping in such a way as 

 to awaken interest, educate and develop purpose to under- 

 take further work. It is natural and necessary, therefore, 

 that some detail should be omitted. For example, some 

 of the finer points of breeding, such as Mendel's Law, and 

 elaborate points of judging are thought to be too extended 

 and subordinate to the main object to be included. 



While special chapters have been provided wherein such 

 subjects as feeds, construction of equipment, etc., are dis- 

 cussed at length, it has been found advisable to treat special 

 phases of these subjects under other chapter heads so as 

 to clarify and complete the subject at hand. Thus, for 

 example, while studying about chicks the student will find 

 a complete discussion of the management, feeding, etc., of 

 chicks without referring to other chapters. A clearer un- 

 derstanding of the subject can be obtained when treated 

 this way, than if taken up at different times. 



The general order of the chapters has been arranged with 

 the thought that they will somewhat approximate the se- 

 quence of events both in the time of their occurrence in 

 actual practice and classroom study. 



It is believed that the subject of poultry keeping as 

 herein presented will not only awaken interest among the 

 boys and girls of graded and high schools, but that the brief 

 and well illustrated nature of this work will suit it for farm- 



