TURKEY. 103 



its insatiable gluttony, and its spirit of depredation, still 

 more to alienate our attachment from the only merit which 

 it can claim, its incomparable beauty. 



The pea-hen is far less beautiful than the cock ; she lays 

 five or six eggs, and studies to hide her nest from her mate, 

 lest he should interrupt the office of incubation, or break 

 her eggs. 



THE DOMESTIC TURKEY. 



The wild turkey was first carried to Europe and other 

 parts of the eastern continent and domesticated many years 

 after the discovery of America. It is said to have obtained 

 the name of Turkey from its being introduced when it was 

 the custom to derive many of the luxuries of life from that 

 country. It is now extensively diffused over the world, 

 and its flesh is ranked among the most delicious poultry. 



The cock is a cowardly fellow, strutting about, and dis- 

 playing his plumage with great ostentation; he is also 

 very noisy and quarrelsome. The hen seems to possess a 

 more modest and retiring disposition, wandering about 

 the fields with a melancholy and dejected air, occasionally 

 uttering a short plaintive note. She is exceedingly 

 attached to her young, but leads them away from danger 

 without ever attempting to defend them by repelling an 

 attack. 



THE QUAIL. 



THIS is the smallest bird of ttoe gallinaceous kind, being 

 little more than half the size of the partridge. It is a bird 

 of passage, however ill adapted it may appear for exten- 

 sive migration. The fact, however, is certain, that they 

 seek a warmer climate when winter sets in, or at least 

 shift their quarters from one province to another ; probably 

 as much allured by the promise of food in greater quantity, 

 as of a more temperate sky. 



The quail builds its nest on the ground, and is much 

 less prolific than the partridge, seldom producing more 



