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TURKEY CULTURE. 



matings. But, as black-red domestic fowls crossed upon 

 white often produce an approximation to buff, which, by 

 selection, can be perfected, we believe that a cross of the 

 Bronze and the White turkey, with subsequent selection, 

 would produce the Buff variety. In fact, many Buff tur- 

 keys show quite plainly the marks of such an ancestry. A 

 variety of the Buff turkey used to be bred in Pennsylvania, 

 under the name of Tuscawara Reds. These birds had a 

 deeper plumage than the ordinary Buff and resembled it 

 very much as a Rhode Island Red resembles a Buff Ply- 

 mouth Rock. We have not heard much about the Tusca- 

 wara Reds lately, and presume, therefore, that they did 

 not "catch on" to the public fancy. 



The standard weights of Buff turkeys are somewhat 

 less than for the Bronze and Narragansett. A comparison 

 of these, with the White, will show fairly well how these 

 birds average in weight relation to each other. 



The Black and Slate varieties are of the same weight 

 as the Buff. The somewhat less weight of the Buff turkey 

 when compared with the Bronze or the Narragansett, 

 perhaps will account, in part at least, for its less popu- 

 larity, for big birds catch the eye, and people forget that 

 sometimes the smaller birds are quite as profitable to rear, 

 and actually sell better than the big ones. Not long ago 

 the writer noticed that the market quotations for turkeys 

 dressing from eight to ten pounds were higher than for 

 those of greater weight. The manager of the Anowon 

 Farm recently told the writer that their turkeys all 

 Whites had sold well, the price being thirty-five cents 

 per pound. 



However originated, and whether popular or not, the 

 Buff turkey is one of the most beautiful varieties we have. 



