TURKEYS. 291 



while the hens and young males spread out their tails, and 

 make the most of their figures. At last, as if by common 

 consent, they mount the highest trees, from whence, at a 

 particular signal from a leader, away they launch themselves. 

 If, as is often the case, the river is wide, these short-winged, 

 heavy -bodied travellers perish in great numbers. The strong, 

 old, and healthy, generally accomplish their object, while the 

 weak and tender, falling short, are hurried down the stream ; 

 but they do not, in this perilous predicament, lose their 

 presence of mind, for, spreading out their tails as a sail, 

 they close their wings, stretch out their necks, and strike out 

 boldly for the shore. 



There can be no doubt that our European stocks of tame 

 Turkeys are descendants of these wild Americans ; and yet it 

 is remarkable that, train and keep them as long as you please, 

 the wild Turkey will still retain its original habits ; and it is 

 not improbable that, if left to themselves, the descendants of 

 our tame ones would in time resume the wild habits of their 

 forefathers, like those which we have above mentioned, 

 abounding near the Black Sea. 



We are not, indeed, without instances of wild Turkeys, at 

 this day, in our own country, and a curious anecdote has 

 reached us of a friendship taking place between a flock of 

 these birds and a Partridge. It occurred at Tyninghame, in 

 Scotland, where there is a breed of Turkeys which never enter 

 into the poultry -house or yard, but roost in the trees, and 

 live chiefly on beech-mast, and anything else they can pick 

 up, though they are tame enough to come about the house to 

 be fed in the time of frost and snow. About eight or ten 

 years ago, a cock Partridge, fall grown, suddenly joined 

 himself to the flock of these Turkeys, and remained with 

 them constantly during the whole Summer, Autumn, and 

 Winter ; at night he slept under the trees in which they 

 roosted ; in the day he fed with them, and was not the least 

 frightened or disturbed by people walking among them. He 

 took great liberties with the old Turkey-cock ; when he saw 

 him going to pick up a worm or any seed, he used to run 

 under him between his legs, and snatch it out of his mouth, 



u 2 



