Turkeys. 
403 
The wing primaries deep brown ; secondaries and outer wing coverts, slaty-blue, each feather tipped with 
white, and having irregular markings of white on the outer webs of each feather. The inner secondaries 
are of a brownish shade. The centre and upper-parts of the wing coverts are almost black. The chest is 
marked irregularly with a band of blackish-brown ; the under-parts of the breast are white ; the under tail 
coverts, blackish-brown, splashed with white at the tips. The legs and feet are yellow. 
The Crested Curassow.— These large birds are found in a wild state in Brazil, Mexico, and Guiana 
(South America), but in Guiana are frequently met with in a domesticated state, and kept as ordinary Poultry. 
They are most handsome and attractive, and grow to an enormous size, many specimens being as large as 
ordinary Turkeys. In the thickly-wooded parts of Guiana they congregate in large flocks, perching on the 
branches of trees. Many specimens of the breed were taken to Holland as far back as the eighteenth century, 
being domesticated and bred largely in that country, though of recent years they appear to have become 
extinct. There are some specimens at the present day kept in the Zoological Gardens of London and Paris. 
In their wild state they build their nests among the trees, the nest being clumsily constructed, and the 
hens laying from six to seven eggs at a batch, the eggs being nearly as large as an average goose egg, the 
shells being very strong and thick. There are two or three varieties of the tribe, the best known being the 
Black Curassow, with lemon coloured crest, and white underneath, though, the most attractive of the race is' 
pencilled in plumage. The latter are rounder and plumper in form than the Blacks, and their colour is a 
marvellous combination of beautiful markings, the ground colour of the back, wings, and tail being black, 
with olive-green reflections, and with sharply-defined pencillings of buff across each feather, the breast and 
under-parts being marked similarly, but the ground colour a trifle lighter. The feathers on the head are 
buff; the neck, satiny-black; the crest, white, each feather tipped with black ; the beak, black, with yellow 
skin at the base ; and the legs and feet are red. 
They are very graceful in their movements, and with a constant play of the crest, excite admiration, and 
when kept in confinement for a short time become very confiding. Being such splendid birds, and of equal 
possibility of domestication as the Pheasant or Turkey, and the flesh being, if anything, whiter and superior 
to the Turkey in flavour, there is little doubt that in a few years at most the Crested Curassow will be 
numbered among our domesticated Poultry. 
The English Counties of Cambridge and Norfolk send a very large number of Turkeys to the London 
market, the Cambridgeshire Turkey being generally the larger of the two, longer in leg, and larger in bone, 
and of a bronzy-grey colour. The Norfolk Turkey is black, spotted here and there with white spots on the 
wings. 
The White Turkeys are very beautiful, though rather delicate. The tuft on the breast of the cock is 
black, and shows off to great advantage contrasted with the snow-white plumage. 
The now well-known American Bronze was produced by crossing the North American wild variety with 
the common Turkey, and by careful selection and preference in breeding, the result is a bird possessing, to a 
great degree, the splendid plumage of the wild variety, with increased size. Some of the best strains of the 
American Bronze average 30 lbs. for cocks, and 16 to 20 lbs. the hens ; but these weights are often consider- 
ably exceeded, reaching as high as even 48 lbs. in cocks. Birds weighing from 35 to 40 lbs. being 
frequently bred. 
Young Turkeys are generally recognised as being difficult to rear ; but much of this can be traced to 
the amount of in-breeding practised, and it is a noted fact that in instances where a fresh cross, such as that 
imparted by the American Bronze, is introduced, the young birds are much hardier in constitution. 
At the same time there is a time in their lives, just before the young birds show the red development about 
the neck and throat, when, if they get wet, disaster will almost certainly follow. After that period has passed, 
they become very hardy, and if properly fed and cared for, will come along at an amazing pace. The young 
Turkeys when hatched should be fed often, a little at a time, and for the first two or three days hard-boiled 
eggs, with no other ingredients added, beyond dandelion leaves or boiled nettles, minced up very fine. The 
