278 
THE POULTRY BOOK. 
wilicii are snow-white, the tuft on the breast remains black, looking in the hens 
like a tail of ermine, and showing as a great ornament. The head and caruncles 
on the neck of the male arc, when excited, of the same blue-white and red hues 
as seen in the darker bird. Thus the creature, with small portions of black, 
blue, and scarlet, relieving his snowy and trembling flakes of plumage, is 
truly beautiful ; and some keep them in spite of the disadvantages attending 
them. 
One advantage ^they possess over the darker breeds is, that their fluff or the 
soft-plumed feathers of the thighs are valued by the plumasiers, and realize a 
fair price in the ornamental feather market. 
The weight of the first class turkeys exhibited for competition at the principal 
shows, may be estimated from one example. At the Birmingham poultry show, 
held in December, 1865, the weight of the first prize pair of old birds was 
47 lb. ; those which received the second prize weighed 46 lb. ; and those taking 
the third prize, 45 lb. Of the young turkeys the first prize pair weighed 40 lb., 
the second 36 lb., and the third 35 J lb. All these birds were of the Cambridge 
variety ; the superior size of the birds of this breed renders them almost always 
successful, wdien they come into competition with the black or vdiite varieties. 
In the show-pen the chief points looked for in turkeys are size and symmetry ; 
crooked backs, breasts, or legs, or deformity in any part, being held as disqualifi- 
cations. The birds in the same pen must match in colour, which should be 
rich and bright, showing the high condition and vigorous health necessary to success 
in competing for prizes at an exhibition. 
