TUREEYS ON THE FARM. 305 
pretty well mixed. If not separated immediately, they 
may roost together, and roam as one flock the rest of the 
season. The first night a flock fails to return to its 
home roost, it should be looked up, separated from the 
other flocks and driven home. ‘To do this is compara- 
tively easy if immediately attended to, but each day they 
run together makes their separation more difficult. 
To readily distinguish their own birds, many raisers 
try to have turkeys of a different color from any of those 
of their neighbors. By breeding for several seasons 
from a gobbler of a breed different from those kept near 
by, the flock takes on characteristics of its own, and 
each individual is readily distinguished. The White, 
Buff, Slate and Red or Golden varieties are valued prin- 
cipally for such use by growers. An additional advan- 
tage is gained, because first crosses between pure breeds 
are much more hardy, and some combinations are much 
larger. The grading up of common stock by the re- 
peated use of males of a pure breed also improves its 
profitable qualities. : 
This means of identifying a flock is an excellent one, 
but is not sufficient for all purposes, for it is often de- 
sirable to distinguish the birds of a flock from each 
other, the stock raised one year from that of another, or 
that of a favorite hen or gobbler. Your turkeys may be 
lost among similar colored birds, or they may be cap- 
tured by thieves, and dressed before you get a clue to 
them. If you havea private mark you can tell them, 
dead or alive. A private brand is desirable, for many 
reasons. 
In turkey-raising sections, where there is a flock on 
nearly every farm, a system of marking their feet is fol- 
lowed. This is done by clipping off one or more of 
their nails, or tips of their toes, as soon as the little tur- 
keys are hatched. At this age they take very little no- 
tice of the operation, and there is little or no bleeding. 
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