Turkey-breeding in England. 515 



finer in texture than that of the Cambridgeshire Bronze ; but as a rule the latter sort predominates 

 in the East Anglian stubbles, and comes to the greatest weight. A good April-hatched cock at 

 Christmas should average about eighteen pounds in his feathers, and the hen-bird about ten or 

 eleven pounds in November, with ordinary feeding; but if they have been 'sent along' with Indian 

 corn, barley-meal, rice, and potatoes, they will make up to nearly two pounds heavier. The small 

 Norfolk farmers generally keep a cock and three or four hens, and consider fifteen an excellent brood. 

 The best broods are always hatched in April ; and the second brood, which never comes to the same 

 maturity, and is eaten at poult estate, follows in June or July. A September hatch too often 

 realises the rustic prophecy, ' They'll never be fit, they won't live long enough.' Cramp in the legs 

 is very fatal to the broods ; but it only kills them by lingering stages, and a disease in the head 

 very often effects ' a highly successful elimination.' Wet is the young Turkey's greatest foe. They 

 are not let out of the coop till they have been hatched two or three days, and they should then be 

 carefully watched and driven in from a shower. 



" On the smaller farms they are seldom finished off for market, and middlemen go round 

 about the end of August and buy them up at an average of ;£^4 los. per score. They are then sold 

 at a small profit, of sometimes only sixpence per head, to the larger farmers to ' shack ' upon the 

 barley or oat stubbles, while the ' swine, well ringled,' are put upon the wheat ones. By the terms 

 of some leases, the pigs and poultiy are the only live stock which may be depastured on the young 

 grass seeds layer. A turkey-boy is placed in daily attendance on the flock, to drive them home if 

 it is wet, and keep them away from the trees, to which, true to their American forest origin, they 

 are very partial. Nice bright plumage, and wattles like red sealing-wax, are capital symptoms, 

 and if the cocks gobble they are said to ' talk healthy.' Fighting is also a true sign of vigour, and 

 so is fly-catching when they are young. Besides what they get on the stubbles, they have abundance 

 of in-door relief The system of cramming them at night with forced balls is very much abandoned, 

 and they are generally well kept on potatoes, barley-tailings, and light wheat, ground and mixed 

 with milk. Common white turnips, which they eat greedily without slicing, tend to make their flesh 

 white, and 'cool their coppers ;' brick-dust to scour their maw is never neglected. 



" They are killed simply by breaking their necks, and the breast-bone is also broken before 

 they are sent off to the poultry salesman, in order to give the breast a plumper appearance. The 

 cocks, if sold out of their feathers to the neighbouring gentry, will fetch one-and-twopence per 

 pound, and the hens a shilling, or sometimes only ninepence, when a very plentiful season has 

 knocked down prices, or they are not fed up to the mark. The bigger they are the higher their 

 value per pound, on the same principle that salmon of twenty pounds and upwards fetch sixpence 

 more in the spring and early summer months for the large West-end dinner parties. The great 

 bulk of them go in their feathers to the London salesmen ; but the wives of the small farmers take 

 them picked to Norwich and sell them in the market, where very large ones, trussed and ready 

 for the spit, have made one-and-sixpence at Christmas. Hen-birds, which get fat sooner, and are 

 generally killed off before the end of November, are thought to be a daintier 'morsel than the 

 'gobblers.' Some two-year old cocks (beyond which age they are very seldom kept) have been 

 killed at thirty pounds, when a heavy-weight is wanted for an audit dinner ; but with very high 

 feeding, in one or two rare instances, prize birds have turned the scale at forty pounds." 



The White Turkeys mentioned in the preceding account are exceedingly beautiful in 

 appearance. The tuft on the breast of the cock remains black, producing a most beautiful contrast 

 with the snow-white plumage ; and the red and blue upon the head and neck also contribute to 

 set off the general colour of the bird. This variety is generally found somewhat delicate, but not 

 to nearly so great an extent as many persons have alleged ; indeed we have heard from one lady 



