TURKEYS. 



221 



which the young are hatched. Mr. Gould de- 

 scribes this heap or mound as the result of sev- 

 eral weeks' collection by the birds previous to 

 the period of laying, as varying in quantity from 

 two to four cart-loads, and as of a perfectly 

 pyramidal form. This mound, he states, is not 

 the work of a single pair of birds, but is the re- 

 sult of the united labor of many ; the same site 

 appeared to Mr. Gould to be resorted to for sev- 

 eral years in succession, from the great size and 

 entire decomposition of the lower part, the birds 

 adding a fresh supply of materials on each occa- 

 sion previous to laying. 



" The mode," says Mr. Gould, " in which the 

 materials composing these mounds are collect- 

 ed is equally singular, the bird never using its 

 bill, but always grasping a quantity in its foot, 

 throwing it backward, as represented in the en- 

 graving, to one common centre, and thus clear- 

 ing the surface of the ground surrounding the 

 hot-bed for a considerable distance of every 

 leaf and blade of grass, every scrap of vegeta- 

 tion being added to assist fermentation. The 

 heap being accomplished, and time allowed for 

 sufficient heat to germinate, the eggs are de- 

 posited, not side by side, as is ordinarily the case, 

 but planted at regular intervals, at the distance 



of nine or twelve inches from each other, and 

 buried nearly an arm's length beneath the sur- 

 face, perfectly upright, with the large end up- 

 ward. They are covered up as they are laid, 

 and allowed to remain until hatched. 



" Some of the natives state that the females 

 are constantly in the neighborhood of the heap 

 about the time the young are likely to be hatch- 

 ed, and frequently uncover and cover them up 

 again, apparently for the purpose of assisting 

 those that may have appeared; while others 

 have informed me that the eggs are merely de- 

 posited and the young allowed to force their 

 way unassisted. In all probability, as Nature 

 has adopted this mode of reproducing, she has 

 also furnished the tender birds with the power 

 of sustaining themselves from the earliest pe- 

 riod ; and the great size of the egg would equal- 

 ly lead to this conclusion, since in so large a 

 space it is reasonable to suppose that the bird 

 would be much more developed than is usually 

 found in eggs of smaller dimensions. In far- 

 ther confirmation of this point, I may add, that 

 in searching for eggs in one of these mounds, I 

 discovered the remains of a young bird, appar- 

 ently just excluded from the shell, and which 

 was clothed with feathers, not with down, as is 



