THE TURKEY. 119 



spell" in April, the farmers' wives take care never to have a 

 brood come out until that spell is passed. In England, where 

 the wet spells come hap-hazard, the first thing is to take care 

 that young turkeys never go out, on any account, (except in dry 

 weather,) until the dew be quite off the ground ; and this 

 should be adhered to till they get to be the size of an old par- 

 tridge, and have their backs well covered with feathers ; and 

 in wet weather they should be kept under cover all day long. 

 As to the feeding of them when young, many nice things are 

 recommended hard eggs chopped fine, with crumbs of bread, 

 and a great many other things ; but that which I have seen 

 used, and always with success, and for all sorts of young poul- 

 try, is milk turned into curds. This is the food for young 

 poultry of all sorts. Some should be made fresh every day ; 

 and if this be done, and the turkeys be kept warm, not one out 

 of a score will die. When they get to be strong, they may 

 have meal and grain ; but still, they always love the curds. 

 When they get their head-feathers, they are hardy enough ; 

 and what they then want is room to prowl about. It is best tc 

 breed them under a common hen, because she does not ramble 

 like a hen turkey ; and it is a very curious thing that the tur- 

 keys bred up by a hen of the common fowl do not themselves 

 ramble much when they get old ; and for this reason, when 

 they buy turkeys for stock in America, (where there are such 

 large woods, and where the distant rambling of turkeys is incon- 

 venient,) they always buy such as have been bred under the 

 hens of the common fowl than which, a more complete proof 

 of the great powers of habit is, perhaps, not to be found. And 

 ought not this be a lesson to fathers and mothers of families ? 

 Ought not they to consider that the habits which they give 

 their children are to stick by those children during their whole 

 lives ? 



' The hen should be fed exceedingly well, too. while she 



