The contributions to poultry science and practice of Milo Hastings (1884–1957) are reviewed. In his short career with poultry, which lasted only nine years, he initiated the first laying trials in the USA, invented an instrument for measuring humidity in egg stores, and designed and constructed the first mammoth, forced draught incubators. He also wrote a manual of poultry practice on sound scientific lines. In 1915 he advocated strongly the application of industrial techniques to intensive poultry production, but in such a way as to take account of both welfare and economics.
