220 TURKEYS, ORNAMENTAL POULTRY, AND WATER-FOWL. 



never till the grass is dry, and always driving in before every 

 shower, and keeping in whilst the herbage remains wet. This 

 must be continued till nine or ten weeks old, when they will 

 begin to " put out the red," as it is called, or to develop the 

 singular red excrescences on the neck so characteristic of the 

 turkey breed. This process will last some little time, and 

 when completed the birds will be pretty fully fledged. They 

 are now hardy, but must not be too suddenly exposed to rain 

 or cold winds. Take some reasonable care of them for a while 

 longer, and very soon they will have become the hardiest birds 

 known in the poultry-yard, braving with impunity the fiercest 

 storms, and even preferring, if permitted, to roost on high trees 

 through the depth of winter. Tn fact, turkeys will rarely 

 roost in a fowl-house ; and a very high open shed should there- 

 fore be provided the higher the better the perches being 

 placed as high as possible. They might be left to their natural 

 inclination with perfect safety so far as their general health is 

 concerned ; but in very severe weather their feet, if roosting 

 on exposed trees, are apt to become frost-bitten. 



To attain great size, animal food and good feeding generally 

 must be supplied from the first. By this means astonishing 

 weights have been attained ; we knew of a cock which weighed 

 very nearly forty pounds, and a full-grown bird much less than 

 thirty would stand little chance at a good show. We do not say 

 that such weights are profitable we believe the contrary 

 but we do contend that good feeding, leading to fair good size, 

 is the only way to extract profit from poultry of any kind. 

 It is especially the case with turkeys, because the large ones, 

 if of good shape, are worth much more per pound by weight 

 than the smaller ones. 



The ordinary English turkey is of two kinds the Norfolk 

 (black all over) and the Cambridge. The latter is of all colours 

 the best, to our fancy, being a dark copper bronze ; but fawn 

 colour and pure white are often seen, as are also variegated 



