140 TURKEY CULTURE. 



firm legs, that stand well apart, and the general charaOi 

 teristics of a strong bird. Mate them with a pure-bred 

 "Bronze gobbler," a fine, large, well-formed, warlike- 

 looking bird, with life and strength enough in him to 

 make the rest of the occupants of the barnyard quake with 

 fear whenever his lordly strut is heard. Having thus se- 

 lected your breeding birds, you have made a good, fair 

 start toward success. 



The sooner you can start your hens laying in the spring, 

 the larger will be your young birds in the fall. In order 

 to do this, give your hens, for their morning feed, hot 

 mashed potatoes, mixed with corn meal and middlings, 

 about two parts middlings to one of corn meal ; stir in 

 some pepper and meat scraps and a little salt. Just a 

 word of caution here : Don't overdo the thing and get 

 your birds too fat. Three quarts of this mixture will be 

 enough for ten birds. In the afternoon, give a feed of 

 grain, either barley, wheat, or buckwheat, or a mixture 

 of the three. Provide plenty of broken oyster or clam 

 shells, and good, clean water. It will not be long after 

 the first of April that some morning one, and then an- 

 other, of your turkeys, will steal away to some secluded 

 place, and there lay her egg. It is best to let her have 

 her own way in the selection of the nest, but keep your 

 eye on her and take the egg from the nest after the tur- 

 key leaves it, leaving a china or hen's egg in its place for 

 a nest egg. Turn your eggs once every day until you have 

 enough for a setting, which is from nine to eleven, for a 

 hen, and from twelve to fifteen for a turkey. 



I always set my early ones under hens, as you can 

 keep the young birds confined better when the weather is 

 cold and wet. If you intend using a hen, select a good, 

 quiet bird, one that will attend faithfully to business ; let 

 her set a few days, until she gets settled down to work, 

 before giving her the eggs. See that she is free from lice, 

 and that the nest is dry and warm and also free from ver- 



