338 Wright, Early Records of the Wild Turkey. [jyjy 



"Much labour has been given by various naturalists to ascertain 

 the date of its introduction to Europe, to which we can at present 

 only make an approximate attempt; but it is plain that evidence 

 concurs to shew that the bird was established in Europe by 1530 — 

 a very short time to have elapsed since it became known to the 

 Spaniards, which could hardly have been before 1518, when Mex- 

 ico was discovered. The possibility that it had been brought to 

 England by Cabot or some of his successors earlier in the century 

 is not to be overlooked, and reasons may be assigned for supposing 

 that one of the breeds of English Turkeys may have had a northern 

 origin; but the often-quoted distich first given in Baker's Chronicle 

 (p. 298), asserting that Turkeys came into England in the same year 

 — and that year by reputation 1524 — as carps, pickerels and 

 other commodities, is wholly untrustworthy, for we know that 

 both these fishes lived in this country long before, if indeed they 

 were not indigenous to it. The earliest documentary evidence of 

 its existence in England is a 'constitution' set forth by Cranmer 

 in 1541, which Hearne first printed (Leland's Collectanea, ed. 2, vi. 

 p. 38). This names ' Turkey-cocke ' as one of 'the greater 

 fowles' of which an ecclesiastic was to have 'but one dishe,' and 

 its association with the Crane and Swan precludes the likelihood 

 of any confusion of the Guinea-Fowl. Moreover the comparatively 

 low price of the two Turkeys and four Turkey-chicks served at a 

 feast of the serjeants-at-law in 1555 (Dugdale, Origines, p. 135) 

 points to their having become by that time abundant, and indeed 

 by 1573 Tusser bears witness to the part they had already begun to 

 play in 'Christmas husbandlie fare.' In 1555 both sexes were 

 characteristically figured by Belon (Oyseaux, p. 249), as was the 

 cock by Gesner in the same year, and these are the earliest repre- 

 sentations of the bird known to exist." ^ 



Of its introduction on the continent, Bennett gives us the follow- 

 ing : ^ " A Frenchman named Pierre Gilles has the credit of having 

 first described the turkey in this quarter of the globe, in his addi- 

 tions to a Latin translation of Aelian, published by him in 1535. 

 His description is so true to nature, as to have been almost wholly 



1 Newton, Alfred. A Dictionary of Birds. London, 1896, pp. 995, 996. 



2 Bennett, E. T. The Gardens and Menagerie of the Zoological Society Deline- 

 ated Birds. London, 1835, Vol. II, pp. 213, 214. 



