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OUR DOMESTIC BIRDS 



them in captivity, producing both pure wild and half-wild stock. 

 They also secured the eggs of wild birds and hatched and reared 

 the young with tame hens. With wild stock under control, they 

 were able to use as much wild blood as they desired in their 



flocks, and soon 

 fixed and improved 

 the bronze type 

 until they had 

 a variety of tur- 

 keys that were 

 extremely hardy, 

 larger than the 

 wild race or any 

 domestic stock that 

 had hitherto been 

 produced, and also 

 more attractive in 

 color. The name 

 " Bronze " was 

 soon applied ex- 

 clusively to this 

 type of turkey 

 in America. In 

 England they are 

 called American 

 Bronze, to distin- 

 guish them from 

 the Cambridge 

 Bronze, which 

 seems to be very nearly a duplicate of the Narragansett. 



The evolution of the Bronze Turkey in America is one of 

 the most interesting things in poultry culture. The work was 

 done on a very large scale. It was not just a few breeders 

 that engaged in grading up domestic turkeys with wild blood, 



FIG. 155. White Holland Turkey cock. (Photograph 

 by E. J. Hall) 



