28 THIRTIETH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



turkey wishes to commence laying - she will let you know it by 

 a noise peculiar to her at that time. Spend a few hours with 

 her then to make her lay where the foxes and skunks cannot 

 get to her nest. When you have done this success is in 

 sight for with a subsequent severe letting alone the young are 

 hatched and the loss should not be over ten per cent. When 

 the hen is first giving eggs sprinkle insect powder in the nest 

 and three or four days before she comes off with the young 

 turkeys repeat the operation. When the eggs commence to 

 hatch do not go near the nest for thirty-six hours. At the 

 end of that time all the eggs should be hatched which are 

 good. If you molest her while hatching she is very liable to 

 crush some of the young turkeys. When they are all dried off 

 and can walk put them with the mother out in the pasture 

 or any place where the grass is short. Then if you have a good 

 hound you can let them take care of themselves unitl they get 

 large enough to go on to a roost. At this time it is a good 

 plan to get them up every night for a week or so and feed them 

 a little corn or buckwheat. At the end of a week at about sun- 

 down or a little before, your turkeys will come home to roost 

 but of course they expect a little feed. Do not disappoint 

 them; if you do you will have to do it all over again. My loss 

 the last season was only 7 1 - percent, of what came off the 

 nest. 



The best time to dispose of the increase of the flock is at 

 Thanksgiving. The turkey is a national bird at that time. 

 Good prices are usually paid then, better than at any time in 

 the year and the larger bird brings the best prices every time; 

 so that the turkey carding the most pounds at that time, 

 brings the most money. I shall not discuss the merits of the 

 different breeds further than to say that while an eight to ten 

 pound turkey was worth thirteen to fourteen cents per pound 

 last November, one that weighed fourteen to sixteen pounds 

 brought sixteen to seventeen cents per pound. In the larger 

 bird you not only get the added number of pounds but get 

 from two to three cents per pound extra for every pound the 

 turkey weighs. 



