THE TURKEY HISTORIC 87 



uniform and constant colorings. But I will not 

 discuss the question whether the Mexican wild 

 turkey is of a different species from ours or 

 merely a variety of the same species, only with 

 differences in color which have arisen from ac- 

 cidental causes, and certainly I will not question 

 that the Mexican turkey is the parent of many 

 domestic turkeys, but I cannot resist the con- 

 clusion that our wild turkey is the progenitor of 

 our domestic turkey." 



We have now come to where we can study the 

 eggs of these birds, and in the same article I 

 have just quoted so extensively from, Judge 

 Caton says on page 324 of it, "The eggs of the 

 wild turkey vary much in coloring and somewhat 

 in form, but in general are so like those of the 

 tame turkey that no one can select one from the 

 other. The ground color is white, over which 

 are scattered reddish-brown specks. These dif- 

 fer in shades of color, but much more in numbers. 

 I have seen some on which scarcely any specks 

 could be detected, while others were profusely 

 covered with specks, all laid by the same hen in 

 the same nest. The turkey eggs are more pointed 



