CHAPTEE VIII. 



TRAINING TURKEYS TO SIT AT ANY TIME. 



In France, turkeys are used as sitters and mothers 

 when broody hens are scarce. In certain sections, turkey 

 hens are mostly used as sitters, and many breeders keep 

 from thirty to one hundred turkeys, which are employed 

 for incubation, with occasional interruptions, the year 

 round. The large hatching establishments, where a large 

 number of incubators are used, employ turkey hens to do 

 a part of the work. A French woman, who has had great 

 success in beguiling her turkey hens to sit whenever she 

 wants them to, gives an account of how it is done, in the 

 English Fanciers' Gazette. 



"To those who do not possess an incubator, turkeys 

 are still more precious, as they generally get broody after 

 a few days' training. It is not expensive business. The 

 process is simple, and not beyond the reach of every purse. 

 Secure a box long and wide enough to give the turkey 

 her complete ease, though not high enough to allow her to 

 stand up in it. This box must be shut by a cover, fastened 

 by hooks, or kept down by a heavy stone. Four laths 

 nailed together over a piece of wire, is the best cover to 

 use; but one or two boards put over the box, with a little 

 space left between them for air, will do quite well. A 

 piece of canvas covers the whole, and keeps the bird in 

 the dark. On the bottom of the box place a good bed of 

 hay, slightly hollowed out in the center, and in this nest a 

 few clear or china eggs. Then take the turkey gently, and 

 give her five or six pieces of bread, soaked in red wine or 

 brandy and water (half and half), or whisky and water, 

 or any other liquor capable of giving a slight ' elevation ; ' 



