246 



THE AMERICAN, OR COMMON TURKEY. 



the reign of Henry the Eighth. According to Tusser's " Five Hundred 

 Pointes of good Husbandrie," they began about the year 1585 to form 

 An article in our rural Christmas feasts : 



COMMON TURKEY. 



Beefe, mutton, and pork, shred pies of the best, 

 Pig, veale, goose, and capon, and furkie well drest 

 Cheese, apples, and nuts, jolly carols to heare, 

 As then in the countrie is counted good cheare." 



These birds, among themselves, are extremely furious ; and yet 



against other animals they are gene- 

 rally weak and cowardly. The 

 domestic cock often makes them keep 

 at a distance ; and they seldom 

 venture to attack him but with united 

 force, when the cock is rather 

 oppressed by their weight than an- 

 noyed by their weapons. There have, 

 however, occurred instances in which 

 the Turkey-cock has not been found 

 wanting in prowess: A gentleman of 

 New York received from a distance a 

 Turkey-cock and hen, and a pair of 

 Bantams, which he put into his yard 

 with other poultry. Some time after- 

 wards, as he was feeding them from the 

 barn-door, a large hawk suddenly 

 turned the corner of the barn, and made a pitch at the Bantam-hen. 

 She immediately gave the alarm, by a noise which is natural to poultry 

 on such occasions. On hearing this, the Turkey-cock, which was at a 

 little distance, and no doubt understood the Hawk's intentions, and the 



imminent danger of his old acquaint- 

 ance, flew at the tyrant with such 

 violence, and gave him so severe a 

 stroke with his spurs when about to 

 seize his prey, as to knock him from 

 the hen to a considerable distance; 

 and the timely aid of this faithful 

 auxiliary saved the bantam from 

 being devoured. 



To this I can add another in- 

 stance (though very different in its 

 nature) of the gallantry of the Tur- 

 key-cock. In the month of May, 

 1798, a female Turkey, belonging 

 to a gentleman in Sweden, was 

 sitting upon eggs : and as the cock, 

 in her absence, began to appear 

 uneasy and dejected, he was put 

 into the place with her. He immediately sat down by her side ; and it 

 was soon found that he had taken some eggs from under her, and had 



DOMESTIC TURKEY-COCK. 



