WILD TURKEY SHOOTING. 347 



while it is very dusky. His purpose seems to be to get 

 somewhere near the hen, and wait for her to fly down to 

 him. The hunter will find it very fortunate if he can get 

 on an open hill-side above the gobbler. Those gobblers 

 that are unprovided with hens, from any cause whatever 

 and where turkeys are plentiful there will always be 

 some of this sort are easily called up at any time, morn- 

 ings or evenings. 



The hen lays from ten to fifteen eggs, in a rudely con- 

 structed nest, scratched out in the ground, and filled with 

 leaves or grass. The eggs are always covered up with 

 leaves or grass when she goes away. It is not uncommon 

 for nests to be made near houses, roads, and in fields or 

 orchards. A wheat, oat, or barley field is a fine place for 

 them. The period of incubation is twenty-eight days. 

 The young are hardy, active, and shy from the first, and 

 in two or three weeks are able to fly a little, from which 

 time they go into bushes, and soon into trees, to roost. 

 The mother is a model for care and good management, and 

 is usually very successful in bringing up her young. Soon 

 after the hens begin to sit upon their nests, the gobblers 

 again flock together, and remain so until the next spring. 

 The hens also drift into flocks, with their young, along in 

 August and September, and it is often the case that three 

 or four broods will be combined. 



Unquestionably, the wild turkey is rapidly decreasing 

 in this country, owing chiefly to the want of suitable 

 game laws, and the murderous work of the market-hunter. 

 My opinion is, that the open season should embrace the 

 months of November, December, January, and February 

 alone. I know that many will object to being shut up 

 during the gobbling season, but I see no good reason why 

 other game should be protected during breeding-time 

 and the turkey not. Fond as I am of hunting at this sea- 

 son, I am ready to see spring shooting forbidden. The 



