THE TURKEY. 189 



ed with the view of crossing, and also to rear as de- 

 coy birds ; for although they retain much of the wild 

 habit, and are easily frightened, they feed with the 

 tame stock and in the woods alternately, and entice 

 their forest neighbours to partake of the food of the 

 yard. 



In the European poultry-yard, turkeys of almost 

 every shade of colour are found ; and the curious ef- 

 fect which domestication exercises over the plumage 

 of birds, is seen in them to its utmost range. The 

 gray or gray and white varieties are most and gene- 

 rally esteemed. Some persons, again, fancy those of 

 the most unsullied white, as feeding to a large size, 

 and having pure and tender flesh ; while, again, those 

 of a reddish or cream colour are alone admitted. 

 The most hardy variety, however, certainly is what 

 is called the black. The general colour is black, 

 but various shades of brown occur, and the whole 

 plumage has more of the rich bronzy lustre of the , 

 wild bird than any of the others. We successfully 

 cultivated tbis variety for several years ; the young 

 were reared with the greatest ease, and with very 

 few accidents, and they reached a weight of from 

 twenty to twenty-five pounds, without cramming, or 

 other extra feeding. It was a curious circumstance, 

 that almost every brood had one of a pure white, 

 though the parents and rest of the flock were 

 black. M. Temminck mentions a variety of the 

 turkey, which was kept by Madame Backer in a 

 menagerie or aviary at the Hague. It had a crest 



