48 TURKEY CULTURE. 



The most successful raisers often pay $15 to $25, including 

 express charges, for a satisfactory gobbler. Instead of 

 hesitating to pay the killing price for the best hen or gob- 

 bler in a flock, the turkey raiser should think himself 

 fortunate to secure the best at three or fou-r times the 

 market value of the bird. 



Unlike other domestic fowls, the male turkey fertilizes 

 the eggs of an entire litter by the first copulations ; the 

 number of hens, therefore, with which he may run, may 

 be any number from three to twenty, according to his 

 vigor and strength. 



The male bird should be proud, stately, haughty, 

 ready to resent the presence of a stranger, yet seeming to 

 attract attention to his plumage by the display of its 

 beauty. His voice, as he "gobbles," should be strong and 

 rapid. He should be always gallant to his wives, insisting 

 that they shall admire him, and nothing and nobody else, 

 as doubtless they do. 



The female turkey should be of modest demeanor, yet 

 with a quick, alert, bright eye ; ready to respond to the 

 gentle ministrations of the good woman who has charge of 

 the flock; solicitous for the welfare of her young; willing 

 and able to roost high in some tree near the house, where 

 the proprietor may think them safe from thieves; she 

 should have a soft flute-like voice, as she utters her 

 peculiar cry, that so charms her lordly master; these 

 qualities, combined with a graceful form and carriage, as 

 she quietly and gently moves about foraging for food, 

 make her an object of interest to every one. 



No wonder that the raising of turkeys had such fasci- 

 nation for many people. Lords and ladies of high degree 

 in Europe ; people of all ranks in life, in nearly all parts 

 of the world, engage in this charming pursuit; some for 

 pastime, more for what money the work brings them; but 

 all with an enthusiastic love for the beautiful birds. 

 Even in llhode Island it is customary to kill off and 



