TURKEYS. 



205 



tication the wild turkeys, though kept separate 

 from tame individuals, lose the brilliancy of 

 their plumage in the third generation, becom- 

 ing plain brown, and having here and there 

 white feathers intermixed." 



The wild turkeys are described as being 

 much larger than the tame ones. Far from 

 being improved by care and abundance of food, 

 contrary to most other wild animals, this spe- 

 cies have degenerated. Wild turkeys, it is said, 

 often weigh from forty to sixty pounds. 



Many attempts have been made to introduce 

 the wild turkey, in its native state, on several 

 preserves of game in Europe, but with the ex- 

 ception of one or two instances in England, 

 they have not succeeded. 



" The gi'eat size and beauty," says Audubon, 

 w r ho, it appears, has studied the habits, and 

 written more largely of that bird than any other 

 individual or natural historian, "of the wild tur- 

 key, its value as a delicate and highly-prized ar- 

 ticle of food, and the circumstance of its being 

 the origin of the domestic race, now generally 

 dispersed on both continents, render it one of 

 the most interesting of the birds indigenous to 

 the United States of America. The flesh is of 

 excellent flavor, being more delicate and juicy 

 than that of the domestic turkey. The Indians 

 value it so highly that they term it ' the white 

 man's dish.' " 



"As a matter of curiosity more than profit," 

 says a writer in the Rural New Yorker, " I pur- 

 chased, two years ago last fall, a pair of full- 

 blooded wild turkeys real Native Americans 

 from a flock, some of which exceeded thirty 

 pounds each in weight. Being but a novice in 

 the rearing of poultry, I procured Mr. C. N. Be- 

 ment's book upon the subject, turned to the ar- 

 ticle in which I was interested being about five 

 dollars contra but no small amount of pleasure 

 and profit in anticipation. I read with pleasure 

 the observation of Dr. Franklin, who considered 

 the ' wild turkey so truly noble and valuable 

 that it would have been a much fitter emblem 

 of the country than the White-headed Eagle,' 

 and also that of Audubon, whose knowledge of 

 the feathered bipeds can not be gainsayed, 'that 

 its great size and beauty render it one of the 

 most interesting of the birds indigenous to the 



United States that its flesh is of excellent fla- 

 vor, more delicate and juicy than that of the 

 domestic turkey, rendering it a valuable and 

 highly-prized article of food,' all of which was 

 highly flattering to my new enterprise, and quite 

 an inducement with me to persevere. 



" Being a native of Down East, and an advo- 

 cate for progression, I felt an instinctive desire 

 that, in the general march, any improvement in 

 the main feature of our time-honored festival, 

 so indispensable as the turkey, should not be 

 neglected ; but in pursuing the article farther, 

 I found doubts expressed by some partial ex- 

 periments as to rearing and domesticating them, 

 intimating that their disposition to wander off 

 would be very difficult if not impossible to over- 

 come. Now I live within about thirty rods of 

 thirty acres of timbered land, which produced 

 great quantities of nuts a year ago last fall, the 

 first season of my enterprise, which afforded as 

 great temptations to them, no doubt, as to the 

 tame turkey, and they were often there, yet they 

 were never known to be absent from their ac- 

 customed roost at night. I had but one male 

 during last winter, and he selected the highest 

 point on the wood-shed, which he maintained, 

 regardless of the elements, every night, I be- 

 lieve, during the winter. The hens took a less 

 conspicuous but more protected position in- 

 side. 



" Last spring one of the hens succeeded in 

 bringing out eleven chicks, which were left en- 

 tirely to the mother, running at large. None 

 of them appeared to suffer from exposure to 

 rains or dews, and but for an accident by which 

 we lost three, I should now be able to exhibit a 

 brood of the most beautiful birds, whose aggre- 

 gate weight would not have been less than 150 

 pounds, judging from the size of those on hand. 

 I have had most kinds of poultry during the past 

 two years, excepting ducks and geese, and I am 

 satisfied that the wild turkey is the least de- 

 structive and least expensive. 



"Two important considerations, so far as 

 profit is concerned, remain to be noticed. Mine 

 were fed nothing, after a few days old, till late 

 in the fall. They appeared to thrive well on 

 weeds, grass, and most kinds of flies and bugs, 

 and during the continuance of grasshoppers 



