ESSAY ON REARING TURKEYS. 171 



not unfrequently the whole of them. 1 have known instances, 

 when, on removing the old one for the first time after hatch- 

 ing, the entire brood presented themselves, as lively as the four 

 and twenty blackbirds in the nursery song, when the crust of 

 that famous pie in which they were baked, is opened to the 

 wonder and a Imiration of all juvenile naturalists. 



Now that the chicks have fairly entered on life, what is 

 to be done with them ? Leave them to the care of the moth- 

 er — nature, you say, is the best guardian and provider. True, 

 were the mother in the woods, wild and undomesticated. But 

 she is under your protection, and in your hands is the destiny 

 of her offspring. You must do something for them — at least 

 after they are a day or two old — or they will perish from star- 

 vation. In doing this, however, avoid the too frequent and 

 mischievous practice of stuffing and overloading them Avith 

 food. They are but tiny birds, "with constitutions as delicate 

 as can well be imagined. Shun, too, the absurd treatment of 

 thrusting a pepper corn down their throats, to invigorate them. 

 But begin betimes to supply them with crumbs — not soaked in 

 wine, as the English writers recommend — but softened in wat- 

 er. The same food of which the parent turkey eats, except 

 grain in an unbroken state, the chicks will eat. The article 

 most in use for this purpose, is Indian meal made into a paste, 

 and this given to them in small allowances, will be sufficient 

 for their present wants. They should for a week or more be 

 kept under cover, and then they may be placed out of doors, in 

 some enclosure, to prevent the old one from rambling. A fre- 

 quent practice is to tie her to a stake, by a string attached to 

 her leg. But with such a confinement she is not well pleased; 

 and in one instance I have known a sad fate befall a turkey 

 thus tied, being torn in pieces by a strange dog that attacked 

 her. If it be desirable to confine the mother, it may be done 

 by placing a crockery crate over her, at the sides of which the 

 little ones could have easy passage in and out. 



At night, and in wet weather, turkey chicks must be safely 

 housed, and the house must be large enough to be well venti- 

 lated, and high enough at the door to drive in the old one with- 

 out trouble. I should recommend invariably a floor of boards. 



