BREEDING, RAISING AND FATTENING 
THE THANKSGIVING TURKEY 
by E. K. Parkinson 
T HE accidental choice by our Puritan fore¬ 
bears of the wild turkey for the Thanks¬ 
giving dinner eventually established the custom 
of always associating turkeys with Thanksgiving 
Day, and now the patriotic American feels the 
national day is incomplete without at least a bit of the 
bird. 
There are six varieties of turkeys in this country: 
the Bronze, Buff, Narragansett, Slate, White Holland, 
Black, and Bourbon Red, and of these the Bronze, Nar¬ 
ragansett and White Holland are the most popular ; the 
Bronze has the first place when it comes to size, the 
cocks weighing 36 pounds and the hens 20 pounds; 
next on the list are the Bourbon Reds, with a 30-pound 
cock and 20-pound hen; then come the Narragansetts, 
Buffs, Slates, Black, and White Hollands in the order 
given. But the turkey lover and breeder has real cause 
for alarm in the rapid deterioration in all the popular 
To the smallest pinfeatner, a 
royal fowl, and fit to grace 
a king’s table 
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