102 
FOREST AND STREAM 
March, 1921 
A turkey hen, whose eggs have been 
destroyed, will make a new nest and 
lay another clutch. She will not aban- 
don the effort to rear a brood cf her 
own until the beginning of moulting 
season, about July. This accounts for 
the late-hatched birds occasionally met 
with. These delayed periods of incuba- 
tion greatly interfere with, and retard, 
the process of moulting, and these un- 
fortunate hens are frequently caught 
by cold weather as scantily clad as the 
fashionably dressed belle of the ballroom. 
More young turkeys are destroyed by 
excessive rains than from any other 
cause. So true is this that in years 
where the rainfall is abnormal during 
the months of May and June there is a 
deplorably small crop of turkeys reared. 
While wild turkeys are immune to most 
diseases, they suffer greatly from such 
insects as mosquitos, red-bugs and lice; 
but in this their wonderful instinct 
comes to their rescue, and they rid 
themselves of these pests by wallowing 
in pungent ant-hills, and in wood ashes, 
where ian old log or stump has been 
burned, both of which prove excellent 
insect repellents. 
On the turkey chicks, the first crop of 
feathers, which takes the place of the 
down with which they are hatched grows 
so rapidly that at the age of three 
months they are completely feathered. 
These deciduous feathers, Which are of 
a more ashen shade than in the adult, 
are moulted in August and September, 
and are replaced by the permanent suit, 
which is of the regular color and mark- 
ing, by November. The beard then ap- 
pears on the young gobbler, and grows 
quite rapidly. At one year old it is 
about three inches long; at two years, 
five inches, and at three, eight inches. 
It then grows slowly until it attains a 
length of twelve inches. The hens have 
beards only in rare instances. 
I N many ways the young wild gobbler 
is peculiar. He never gobbles the 
first year except when lost from his 
companions, and then it is hysterical, as 
he does not evince any amorous feelings. 
Also he does not develop the breast 
sponge until the second year, and, un- 
like the domestic turkey, the young wild 
gobbler does not mate until two years 
old. Therefore if no old gobblers are 
left in a locality the hens must produce 
infertile eggs, or mate with a nearby 
domestic gobbler, which frequently hap- 
pens, as is proven by the killing of hy- 
brids which show unmistakable signs of 
domestic blood by having red, instead of 
purple, heads, and white, instead of 
chestnut, tips to the tail and tail coverts. 
As is the case with most polygamous 
birds the proportion of females exceeds 
the number of males. It will be ob- 
served that in most localities there are 
a few old gobblers, but many hens. The 
greatest influence in this respect, how- 
ever, is that the gobble of the male bird 
renders him conspicuous, revealing his 
whereabouts to the hunter and thereby 
greatly increasing his life risk. Eternal 
vigilence is therefore the price of his 
existence, and the experience gained by 
running the gauntlet through several 
seasons renders the old gobbler thor- 
oughly competent of taking care of him- 
self. 
The brood remains under the guid- 
ance of the old hen until mid-winter, 
during which time they are frequently 
joined by a hen whose eggs or brood 
have been destroyed too late for another 
attempt to rear a family. Also, if a 
mother hen is killed, her brood, if found 
by any other hen, will be promptly 
adopted and reared with all the best 
turkey traditions. 
Upon leaving their roost at daylight 
the turkeys immediately begin their 
search for food ; scratching amongst the 
dry leaves under which they glean mast 
and many forms of insects, which con- 
stitute the greater part of their diet. 
They roam along, picking up an acorn 
or grasshopper here and there through- 
out the entire morning, during which 
time they frequently traverse several 
miles. They usually loiter at some 
water course during the noon hours, 
rolling in the dust and absorbing the 
warmth of sunshine in indolent content. 
Along in the mid-afternoon the search 
for food is again commenced, and al- 
ways in the direction of some one of 
their favorite roosting places, which 
they usually reach by sundown. But if 
they are late, they strike out in single 
file, led by the old hen, and “turkey trot” 
until they reach the roosting trees. 
After a short pause the old hen utters 
a sharp cackle and they all fly up, but 
never more than two or three in one 
tree. Large cypress and tupelo trees 
standing in water are favorite roosting 
trees. The same routine is gone 
through daily, but they do not not feed 
over the same range nor roost in the 
same trees consecutively, preferring to 
wander about and search out new roost- 
ing places in which to spend the night. 
The reward of the patient hunter 
I N mid-winter the brood breaks up, the 
young gobblers separating from the 
hens and associating to themselves 
like old gobblers; and the young gob- 
blers remain thus, to themselves, until 
the second spring. From this time until 
early spring three classes of turkeys in- 
habit the forests, viz., the old gobblers, 
the young gobblers and hens of all ages 
banded together. These flocks will in- 
cidentally meet, and commingle for a 
short time, but invaribly separate into 
their respective groups and disperse in 
different directions. 
These traits are habitual until early 
spring, when, to paraphrase, the old 
gobbler’s “fancy lightly turns to 
thoughts of love.” Nature is awakening 
its latent energies, calling forth the 
dormant resources for creating new life, 
and the lusty gobbler feels its impulses, 
and responds with a startling Gil-obble- 
obble-obble. This is his love-call, and 
is given to attract the hens, who seek his 
presence as they feel the exuberance of 
the season. 
The 'old gobblers now disband, and 
each selects some favorite territory for 
his chosen realm, and remains in its 
vicinity throughout the breeding season, 
if he is fortunate enough tc obtain a 
fair-sized harem, but if unable to secure 
the favor of his complement on hens, he 
will roam the country over endeavoring 
to capitivate such females ias may be 
met with. These unfortunate suitors 
prove easy prey to the experienced 
hunter. 
Having proclaimed himself “cock of 
the walk” on a chosen range, the gob- 
bler defends his heath with chivalric 
courage. The sight of gobblers fighting 
reminds one of a “tug of war.” They 
catch a billhold on the loose skin of each 
other’s head and neck and begin to push 
and pull and shove until frequently a 
half acre is covered ; each trying to bend 
the other’s head to the ground, which, 
when accomplished, ends the combat. 
The winner proclaims his victory with 
the airy consciousness of a conquering 
king, while the vanquished retires crest- 
fallen and disgraced. 
Wild turkeys are hunted legitimately 
by sportsmen in only two ways, viz., 
stalking and calling. The methods 
known as roosting, baiting and trapping 
are the ones employed by the “pot hunt- 
er,” a degenerated, depraved, mal- 
formed species of the genus homo, who 
should be branded with a hot iron and 
made to travel on all-fours like the 
swine he emulates. Shooting turkeys 
while on their roost will drive them 
from their range, while baiting and 
trapping will completely decimate them. 
Of the two sportsmanlike methods, 
stalking and calling, the former is more 
laborious and less successful, and re- 
quires the same proficiency in woodcraft 
as stalking the deer, except that in 
stalking turkeys, one does not have to 
contend with the acute olfactory powers 
of the deer. 
During periods of high water, and 
when they are feeding on the tender 
budding foliage of trees are the best 
times for stalking turkeys. “Budding” as 
it is termed by old turkey hunters, is a 
most interesting sight. Frequently an en- 
