THE POULTRY KIND. 14? 



at last, upon disappearing, the parent began to 

 change her note, and sent forth another cry, 

 which in an instant gave life to the whole trem- 

 bling tribe, and they all flocked round her with 

 expressions of pleasure, as if conscious of their 

 happy escape from danger." 



When once grown up, turkeys are very hard 

 birds, and feed themselves at very little expense 

 to the farmer. Those of Norfolk are said to be 

 the largest of this kingdom, weighing from twenty 

 to thirty pounds. There are places, however, in 

 the East Indies, where they are known only in 

 their domestic state, in which they grow to the 

 weight of sixty pounds. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE PHEASANT. 



IT would surprise a sportsman to be told, that the 

 Pheasant, which he finds wild in the woods, in 

 the remotest parts of the kingdom, and in forests 

 which can scarcely be said to have an owner, is 

 a foreign bird, and was at first artificially propa- 

 gated amongst us. They were brought into 

 Europe from the banks of the Phasis, a river of 

 Colchis in Asia Minor, from whence they still re- 

 tain their name. 



Next to the peacock, they are the most beauti- 

 ful of birds, as well for the vivid colour of their 

 plumes, as for their happy mixtures and variety. 



