148 THE TURKEY. 



Before leaving the nest with her young brood, the 

 female shakes herself, adjusts her plumage, and ap- 

 pears roused to the exigencies of the occasion ; she 

 glances upwards and around her, in the apprenension 

 of enemies, and as she moves cautiously along, keeps 

 her brood close about her ; her first excursion is gen- 

 erally to a little distance only from the nest, to which 

 she returns with her brood to pass the first night. 

 Subsequently, they wander to a greater distance, the 

 hen leading her charge over dry undulating grounds, 

 as if aware of the danger of damp and humid spots. 

 "Wet, indeed, is fatal to young turkeys while covered 

 only with down; hence in very rainy seasons, the 

 broods become greatly thinned, for the young, if once 

 completely wetted, seldom recover; their vital ener- 

 gies sink under the abstraction of caloric during evap- 

 oration. 



At the age of a fortnight, the young birds begin to 

 use their wings ; hitherto they have rested on the 

 ground, but now they begin to roost on the low 

 branches of some large tree, crowding close to each 

 side of the mother, and sheltered beneath her broad 

 wings. They now wander about more freely, visiting 

 the glades and open lands bordering the woods in 

 search of wild strawberries and other fruit, grasshop- 

 pers, the larvae of ants and other insects, and roll 

 themselves in the sand and dust in order to clear their 

 growing feathers of loose scales and parasitic vermin ; 

 deserted ants' nests are favorite dusting places. 



By the month of August, the young birds have ac- 

 quired considerable growth, and use their wings and 

 legs with great vigor and readiness, so that they are 

 able to escape the sudden attack of foxes, lynxes, and 

 other beasts of prey, by rising quickly from the ground, 

 and mounting the tallest branches of trees. The 

 young cocks now begin to show their distinctive char- 

 acteristics, and even to utter an imperfect gobble, 

 while the young hens pur and leap. Several broods 

 now flock together, and S3 continue united, till after 



