WILD TURKEY. 211 



Among the benefits conferred by America on the rest of the world, 

 the gift of this noble bird should occupy a distinguished place, as un- 

 questionably one of the most useful of the feathered tribe, being capable 

 of ministering largely to the sustenance and comfort of the human race. 

 Though the Turkey is surpassed in external beauty by the magnificent 

 Peacock, its flesh is greatly superior in excellence, standing almost 

 nnrivalled for delicacy of texture and agreeable sapidity. On this 

 Siccount, it has been eagerly sought by almost all nations, and has been 

 naturalized with astonishing rapidity throughout the world, almost uni- 

 versally constituting a favorite banquet dish. 



The Turkey, belonging originally to the American continent, was 

 necessarily unknown to the ancients, who, in this as in a thousand other 

 instances, were deficient in our most common and essential articles of 

 food. Readers unacquainted with the fact may well be surprised to 

 learn, that, although the introduction of this bird into Europe is com- 

 paratively modern, its origin has been already lost sight of, and that 

 eminent naturalists of the last century, who lived so much nearer to 

 the time of its first appearance, have expressed great uncertainty con- 

 cerning its native country. Thus Belon, Aldrovandi, Gessner, Ray, 

 &c., thought that it came originally from Africa and the East Indies, 

 and endeavored to recognise it in some of the domestic birds of the 

 ancients. , Belon and Aldrovandi supposed it to have been mentioned 

 by ancient authors, but they mistook for it the Numida meleagris of 

 Linn^, which is actually an African bird, now almost naturalized in 

 America, even in a wild state ; so that it would be apparently more 

 reasonable for America to regard that bird as indigenous, than that 

 the old continent should lay claim to the Turkey. In so soon losing 

 sight of the origin of this bird, we see a strong exemplification of the 

 ungrateful disposition of man, who can durably treasure up the mem- 

 ory of wrongs and injuries, but fails to recollect the greatest benefits 

 he has received. It would be loss of time to combat the arguments 

 i^dvanced by authors, who have deceived themselves, in attempting to 

 deprive America of her just title to this bird, since they have been 

 fully refuted by the eloquent Buffon ; but we may here introduce a- 

 sketch of its progress from America throughout Europe. 



The first unquestionable description of the Turkey was written by 

 Oviedo, in 1525, in the summary of his History of the Indies. This 

 bird was sent from Mexico to Spain early in the sixteenth century ; 

 from Spain it was introduced into England in 1524. Turkeys were 

 taken to France in the reign of Francis the First, whence they spread 

 into Germany, Italy, &c. ; a few, however, had been carried to the latter 

 country, by the Spaniards, some years previously. The first Turkey 

 eaten in France, appears to have been served up at the wedding ban- 

 quet of Charles the Ninth, in the year 1570. Since that period, they 



