CHAP. IX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 201 



when from seven to eight or ten months old, 

 after which they go out of season, and are 

 afterwards only used for breeding. They 

 may be fed in the same manner as common 

 fowls, and maize, or Indian corn, will be 

 found very fattening ; but neither tares, peas, 

 nor pulse of any kind should be given to 

 them. They are such gluttons that if fed 

 wholly upon corn, and kept until twenty 

 months old, they would hardly repay the 

 expense. The trouble too of rearing them 

 is such, that in small families where not 

 many are wanted, it is better to purchase 

 the requisite number from travelling higglers, 

 who bring them about the country for sale 

 when they are feathered. They may always 

 be purchased at prices which will pay well 

 for fatting, and thus will be saved the main- 

 tenance of a cock and his hens. 



As the turkeys grow fat, they become 

 disinclined to the exertion of roosting, and 

 as they thus rest upon the floor, it should 

 be covered with straw, which should be fre- 

 quently removed ; but if only kept for laying, 

 it is better to let them have an airy shed less 

 warm than that of the fowl-house, and with 



