1870 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
53 
The Crested Turkey. 
Among all domesticated poultry and other 
birds, so far as we know, except, perhaps, Guinea 
fowls, geese and swans, we find either natural 
crests, or a tendency of the feathers about the 
head to assume extraordinary shapes. Among 
doves we have frills, hoods, and crests; among 
fowls, turban-like crests, and mufflers about the 
throat; among canaries, frills and crests. Pea¬ 
fowls have peculiar crest 
feathers. Pheasants, beauti¬ 
ful and diverse crests. There 
is a crested breed of common 
clucks, and beautiful natural 
crests upon several wild 
species. Among the various 
genera of wild gallinaceous 
fowls are found beautiful 
crests of very different forms. 
The Curassow, for example, 
a bird of South America, 
nearly as large as the turkey, 
has a superb narrow crest, 
capable of being spread 
like a fan, with its-edge to 
the front, and depressed, or 
folded, in like manner. So it 
does not seem an extraordi¬ 
nary freak of Nature that a 
turkey should occur with a 
crest, especially when wc 
consider the varying circum¬ 
stances under which our 
domestic turkeys are raised. 
In the number of the Lon¬ 
don Field for July 17th, a 
gobbler was figured, having 
a crest much like the one 
represented in the engraving 
here given. The accompany¬ 
ing memoranda by Mr. W. 
B. Tegetmeier, gave a brief 
sketch of other reported 
crested turkeys. It seems 
certain that they have re¬ 
peatedly occurred, and have 
received so much attention 
from poultry fanciers as to 
have become at different 
times, more or less establish¬ 
ed as a breed, but now they 
are, and for many years 
have been, altogether lost. 
The specimen represented 
in the Field , and in posses¬ 
sion of Mr. Tegetmeier, was 
said to have come from Zanzibar, and to have 
been sent to a Hamburgh dealer in Zoological 
specimens, by a collector in Africa. It is of the 
common species native to this country. How 
it should have occurred in Africa, is strange. 
Knowing, as we do, the very imperfect knowl¬ 
edge of natural history which zoological dealers 
usually possess, and the lack of accuracy which 
characterises their statements concerning their 
animals, even when truth would serve their pur¬ 
poses better than fiction, we respectfully don’t 
believe a word of its having come from Africa, 
t Almost simultaneously with the appearance 
of this interesting bird in the yard of Mr. Teget¬ 
meier, one is found in this country which closely 
resembles the other in many respects. We no¬ 
ticed it as shown at the exhibition of the Con¬ 
necticut State Poultry Society, and again at 
that of the New York State Poultry Society, 
and as having been purchased by Mr. D. 
E. Gavit, in whose possession it still remains. 
The cock is a medium-sized one, weighing 
perhaps 18 or 20 pounds; of a blackish bronze 
color upon the body, fading into gray below, 
and into brilliant light chestnut bronze on the 
tail and wing feathers, these being edged with 
broad bands of black and white. The legs are 
dark, flesh color; the spurs indicating at least 
a l’la-year-old bird. The carunculations upon 
the neck, and the beard, are well developed. 
The crest is like the Hamburgh bird, “ of a dull, 
uniform gray, the feathers composing it being 
soft in texture.” It is a beautiful appendage, 
adding a peculiar grace to the bird. It is in a 
measure erectile at the will of the wearer, 
and gives the gay fellow quite the air of a 
Broadway belle, with her extraordinary chignon. 
We hope this notice may elicit some positive 
information front disinterested parties who 
know by whom and where this bird was bred. 
From all we can learn, he came from somewhere 
near Birmingham, Connecticut. The parties 
who sold him to Mr. Gavit are not disposed to 
be communicative in regard to his origin. If 
he lives he will be bred with care, and we hope 
and expect his progeny, some of them at least, 
will take after him in this beautiful peculiarity. 
Sheep Require Water in Winter. 
That sheep will eat snow and get along tol¬ 
erably well without water, especially when the 
snow is light and clean, is a good argument in 
favor of the hardiness of these patient and use¬ 
ful animals; but it proves nothing in regard to 
the economy of compelling them to do without 
water. In our cold climate a large amount of 
food is required to keep up the animal heat, 
and all the water a sheep drinks lias to be raised 
to the temperature of the body. The heat re¬ 
quired for this purpose is derived from the 
food. Now, it requires twenty-one times as 
much heat to raise a pint of water when frozen, 
to the temperature of 40°, as it does a pint of 
ice-cold water, not frozen. 
Those who have ever under¬ 
taken to melt snow to wash 
with will readily believe this 
statement. What would be 
said of the farmer who 
should use wood or coal for 
such a purpose when it could 
be avoided, and yet wood 
and coal are far cheaper 
sources of heat than hay or 
corn. When we compel a 
sheep to eat snow', we, in 
effect, undertake to melt 
snow by burning straw, hay, 
and corn in the animal 
stove. The same remarks 
will apply to feeding ani¬ 
mals on frozen roots. A 
sheep, weighing say 100 lbs., 
will eat, in addition to a 
liberal allowance of hay and 
grain, 10 lbs. of roots a day, 
containing nearly or quite 9 
lbs. of water. Now, before 
the carbon in the turnips 
can produce fat, or furnish 
material to keep up the heat 
of the body, it must first 
raise this frozen water to 
blood heat. A flock of a 
hundred sheep will drink 
nearly two barrels of water 
a day, and there are few 
things more important to 
the economical and success¬ 
ful wintering of sheep than 
to see that they are con¬ 
stantly or at least frequently 
and regularly supplied with 
water. A running stream, 
brought by pipes into the 
barn-yard, is doubtless the 
best, but when this cannot 
be obtained, the water 
should be pumped up 
fresh for the sheep; and 
not allowed to stand until frozen, and then 
the surface broken and the ice left to float in 
the water that the sheep have to drink. We do 
not know that it would pay to heat water for 
sheep, but certainly it will not pay to make them 
eat snow, or drink water with melting ice in it. 
Where early lambs are raised, it is important 
to provide the ewes with a constant supply of 
fresh water. If from accident or neglect such 
sheep have been kept without water for a day 
or two, nothing is more dangerous than to per¬ 
mit them to drink their fill of cold water. We 
once lost several sheep from this cause, and 
have since heard of many similar instances. 
Take the chill off the water and no danger need 
be apprehended. Suckling ewes require more 
water than other sheep, and when roots are not 
fed, it would undoubtedly contribute much to 
obtaining a good supply of milk for the lambs 
if the ewes were furnished with warm water, 
or, better still, warm, cooked food, snob as oat¬ 
meal and bran mash, or boiled barley, etc. 
CRESTED TURKEY—‘‘VICTOR EMANUEL.’ 
