THE TURKEY. 
139 
ed with the view of crossing, and also to rear as de- 
coy birds ; for although they retain much of the wild 
habit, and are easily frightened, they feed with the 
tame stock and in the woods alternately, and entice 
their forest neighbours to partake of the food of the 
yard. 
In the European poultry-yard, turkeys of almost 
every shade of colour are found ; and the curious ef- 
fect which domestication exercises over the plumage 
of birds, is seen in them to its utmost range. The 
gray or gray and white varieties are most and gene- 
rally esteemed. Some persons, again, fancy those of 
the most unsullied white, as feeding to a large size, 
and having pure and tender flesh ; while, again, those 
of a reddish or cream colour are alone admitted. 
The most hardy variety, however, certainly is what 
is called the black. The general colour is black, 
but various shades of brown occur, and the whole 
plumage has more of the rich bronzy lustre of the 
wild bird than any of the others. We successfully 
cultivated this variety for several years ; the young 
were reared with the greatest ease, and with very 
few accidents, and they reached a weight of from 
twenty to twenty-five pounds, without cramming, or 
other extra feeding. It was a curious circumstance, 
that almost every brood had one of a pure white, 
though the parents and rest of the flock were 
black. M. Temminck mentions a variety of the 
turkey, which was kept by Madame Backer in a 
menagerie or aviary at the Hague. It had a crest 
