Genetics of the Fowl is still the most useful work on poultry genetics. Just the last chapter, "Genetics in Practice," provides the best introduction to successful poultry breeding ever written, covering the difference between breeding for dominant vs. recessive characteristics, individual selection vs. progeny testing, inbreeding vs. crossing, and much more.

Professor Hutt was sympathetic to the needs of practical farmers, show breeders, and researchers, so this book is far more than a compendium of genes, and yet this aspect is covered in loving detail. Chapters include...