1 82 OUR DOMESTIC BIRDS 



lost much of the vigor of the wild stock. As far as is known, 

 the birds taken to Europe after the discovery of America were 

 black or nearly black. In Europe white sports appeared and 

 were preserved, and the colors became mixed black, white, 

 gray of various shades, brown, and buff. That has been the 

 character of most flocks in this country until quite recent times, 

 and many such flocks are still found. 



Improved varieties. The development of the domestic turkey 

 is unique in that the most marked improvement in domestic 

 stocks has been due to extensive introductions of the blood of 

 the wild race. The reason for this is indicated in the statement 

 in the preceding paragraph, in regard to the lack of adaptation 

 of the turkey to the ordinary conditions of life in domestication. 

 The turkey deteriorates where the other kinds of poultry men- 

 tioned would improve. So, while in Europe a few color varieties 

 were made, and in some localities both there and in America local 

 breeds of special merit arose, on the whole the domestic stocks 

 were degenerate. The distinct color varieties were the Black, 

 the White, and the Gray, but by no means all turkeys of these 

 colors were well-bred birds. The color varieties were crudely 

 made by the preference of breeders in a certain locality for a 

 particular color. They were impure and often produced speci- 

 mens of other colors because of the occasional use of breeding 

 birds unlike the flock. In early times it was the almost universal 

 opinion that crossbred stock had more vitality than pure-bred 

 stock. Hence farmers, although preferring a certain type of 

 animal, would often make an outcross to an entirely different 

 type, and then by selection go back to the type of their prefer- 

 ence. When this mode of breeding is adopted, undesirable colors 

 may appear for many years after a bird of a foreign variety has 

 been used in breeding. 



The local European breeds that gained a wide reputation 

 were the Black Norfolk, the Cambridgeshire Bronze, and the 

 White Holland. Black and White turkeys were perhaps quite 



