TURKEY SHOOTING 425 
To be a successful turkey hunter one must know his 
country and conditions, for unless the ground be cov- 
ered with snow, and the pea crop has been a late one, 
the birds keep to the woods, where they are not easily 
seen in the tangle of hazel and blackberry. 
Plenty of turkeys means a good crop of mast, for 
in autumn the chief food of the bird is the acorn, and 
the feeding grounds of the bird will be where the sup- 
ply of acorns is greatest. If the crop fails in the 
swamps, most of the birds move into the rough hill 
country, for when the mast fails in the lowlands the 
hills are likely to have a very good crop, and a 
failure in the hills means an abundant harvest of acorns 
in the swamp. To find where the birds feed, however, 
is not to get your game, or even to see it. Often the 
scattered birds may be easily called up, but on the other 
hand, some flocks of young birds refuse to respond to 
the call. 
To stalk the turkey requires more care and skill 
than to stalk the deer, and he who is successful in this 
description of hunting may congratulate himself. On 
the other hand, one may often blunder on turkeys 
without special effort, and may believe that he has 
mastered the art of turkey hunting; while the very 
next day he may not be able to get within long range 
of his game. Sometimes it is possible to walk close 
up to turkeys, so that one wonders if he has not fallen 
upon a flock of domestic birds. 
As turkeys commonly roost over a water-course, or 
slough, as protection from danger, it is sometimes pos- 
