TURKEY RAISING, 



CHAPTER I 

 History, Extent of the Industry and Opportunities 



A Native American. With its size, its majestic ap- 

 pearance, its marvelous beauty of plumage and the most 

 savory character of its flesh, the turkey may justly be 

 termed the king of domesticated fowls. Moreover, on 

 account of its place of origin and because it is the only 

 native fowl of this country which has taken an impor- 

 tant place among domesticated poultry, it is a bird in 

 which Americans can feel a special pride and pleasure. 

 The different varieties of domesticated turkeys as they 

 now exist in the United States are undoubtedly a de- 

 velopment from the native wild turkey of North America. 

 Formerly the wild turkey occurred in considerable num- 

 bers in the wooded portions of a range extending from 

 Maine southward to Florida and from thence Southwest 

 across Texas, New Mexico and Arizona into Mexico. 

 As the country became more and more settled, the number 

 of wild turkeys grew steadily less, until at the present 

 time they are found in the wild state only in the more 

 remote portions of their former range. 



