THE BREEDS OF TURKEYS. 25 



points. But most persons, after keeping them a few years, 

 declare them to be the finest possible breed of turkeys, and 

 would on no account dispose of their flocks and change the 

 breed. But, after making due allowance for all over- de- 

 scription of the breed and its doings, it must be admitted 

 that it is worthy of a very prominent place among domes* 

 tic fowls. 



The origin of this breed of turkeys is in doubt, and the 

 name is not a correct index to the locality of their origin. 

 They came probably from selecting the finest white tur- 

 keys found among the flocks, and by continuously mating 

 these white birds, a race of such fowls could be obtained 

 in time to breed true to this characteristic. But it has 

 been in America, and within the last 12 or 15 years, that 

 the greatest progress in developing the breed has been 

 made. The standard weights of this breed are as follows : 

 Cock 26 Ibs, cockerel 16 Ibs, hen 16 Ibs, and pullet 10 Ibs, 

 lower weights than are required for any other breed. 

 This would naturally lead one unacquainted with the breed 

 to suppose it to be quite small. On the contrary, I have 

 seen numbers of cocks weighing 30 to 33 Ibs, hens 17 to 19 

 Ibs, cockerels 18 to 22 Ibs, and pullets 13 to 16 Ibs, showing 

 conclusively that the standard weights are too low. Mr 

 Peter Enty, who has had considerable experience with 

 these fowls, writes under recent date : "I dressed a young 

 gobbler last fall, six months and six days old, that weighed 

 16 1-2 Ibs dressed for market, and he was the nicest look- 

 ing bird I ever saw. His skin was transparent white, as 

 was the flesh, and with his red head, and the white .neck 

 feathers down to his beard and wing, tail and fluff feath- 

 ers on, he was a sight that would attract attention in any 

 first-class market. " Such a weight at six months reveals 

 the possibilities of large size and heavy weights in this 

 breed if people would try to bring them out. 



Perhaps one reason why this breed has not been made 

 larger and heavier is because with the size as it now is, 



