262 THE PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPER. 



milk if obtainable. A little grain is generally given after the 

 evening feed, and many feeders give an occasional whole 

 meal of grain as a treat. For the last fortnight some rough 

 suet is often mixed with the meal. Most of the time 

 between meals most feeders keep the shed in semi-darkness; 

 but many let them out for half an hour before feeding, 

 getting them quietly in again for the meal, and then 

 darkening as before. They should have grit also, and a 

 little cut grass. Insect vermin must be sedulously guarded 

 against from the first to the final stage. We have already 

 said that those meant for breeding should never be fattened 

 up in any way. 



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 birds, which occasionally present a very 

 magnificent appearance. In early editions of this work we 

 expressed the hope that English stock might be improved 

 by crqssing with the much larger American bronze turkey, 

 containing chiefly wild blood. Long ere this, repeated 

 importations have been made of this noble strain, and the 

 advantages have been even greater than we had expected. 

 The average size of the Birmingham prize birds has not 

 only been greatly increased, but the hardiness has been 

 even more benefited ; and there are now probably no prize 

 English strains which are not at least half American blood. 

 The magnificent plumage of the American breed is another 

 point in its favour. The heaviest recorded American 

 weight is 45 Ib. The new blood is, however, while 

 hardier regarding exposure, specially sensitive to tainted 

 ground, as above noted. 



The magnificent Honduras, or ocellated turkey, has 

 unfortunately never been successfully domesticated. It 



