214 THE WILD TURKEY AND ITS HUNTING 



the females altogether, and do not pay any atten- 

 tion to their voices. Lack of information and a 

 reckless carelessness have caused the loss of 

 many young gobblers that otherwise might have 

 been secured. After the young males have been 

 separated some time from the females, and are 

 banded together, they are hard to find and hard 

 to bag when found. Instead of flushing at once 

 into the tree at the approach of an enemy, they 

 usually take to their legs and run some distance 

 before stopping, making their pursuit difficult 

 and unreliable. If once flushed and scattered, 

 and the hunter understands how to call them, he 

 can usually get one or two out of the flock if he 

 is familiar with their peculiar ways. Thus after 

 December we have three distinct classes of tur- 

 key society, the old gobblers, the young gobblers, 

 and the hens; and no matter what the number of 

 them is, they persistently maintain this separa- 

 tion the rest of the winter. 



The soft, gentle quaver of the hen has no effect 

 on the ear of the young gobbler at this season, 

 and he will hearken to no other note or call than 

 that of the young gobbler. Even were a flock 



