CHAPTER XIII 



CALLING UP THE LOVELORN GOBBLER 



THERE is a wide difference between the 

 old gobbler and the young gobbler, and 

 the tactics to be employed in hunting 

 them are quite different. At two years old 

 he can be distinguished by his beard, which is 

 then about five inches in length, the tip hav- 

 ing a burned appearance; his spurs are about 

 five eighths of an inch long, are not pointed, 

 while the average weight of the bird is about six- 

 teen to eighteen pounds. At three years this 

 burned appearance disappears and the beard is 

 seven or eight inches long, straight, black, and 

 glossy, the spurs being an inch or more and 

 pointed. The bird may now be considered full 

 grown, and weighs from nineteen to twenty-two 

 pounds. Henceforth there is no way I know of to 

 tell his age. He continues to grow for several 



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