people, we are better satisfied that its effigy was not placed in the
escutcheon of the United States.
Those who have not observedlthe Turkey in its wild state, have
only seen its deteriorated progeny, which are greatlyinferior in size
and beauty. So far from having gained by the care' of man, and
the abundance of food^anéèssible in its state of domestication, •,this
bird has degenerated not only in Europe and Asia, but, what is certainly
extraordinary, oven.1, in its native country» The'-dómèstieated
Turkey of America, 'acchstomed^as- it is to roam in ’"theiwoods and
topen fields almost without restraint, is in no respect. superior" to.,that
of the European poultry-yard.' I have,«however, seen?s’d\$CTtai^yëj?y
beautiful ones from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and^Snssci-
county, New-JeÊsèyj" that^ere-*said to be'ra"GróssVhReédVJbetween the
wild cock and tame hen. This crossing oflcn occurs inVcoJinJjiiès
where Wild and Tame Turkeys are found; .it is well known „that
they will readily approach each other; and such is^the^anfluence - of
slavery even upon the Turkey, that the robust inhabitant óf the
forest will drive his degenerate kinsfolk from their own food, and
from their females^ being generall^wefe«£ed~ and by
their owners, who well know the advantages ofsuch .a cSn^fexfe%
The produce of this commixture is much estéemed by epicures,
uniting the luscious obesity" of the one, with the wild flavour of; the
other. A gentleman, residing in Westohestèr county, New:York,a
few years since procured a young female Wild Turkey, in order to
make the experiment of crossing the breed; but, owing to some circumstance,
it did not succeed, and in the ensuing spring this female
disappeared. In the following autumn she returned, followed by a
large brood; these were quite shy, but, by a little management, they
were secured in a coop, and the mother allowed her liberty: she remained
on the farm until the succeeding spring, when she again disappeared,
and returned in autumn with another brood. This course
she has repeated for several successive years.
Eggs of the Wild Turkey have been frequently taken from their
nests and hatched under the tame hen; the young preserve a portion
of;their;uncivilized nature, and exhibit some knowledge of the differ-
"enee between- themselves and their foster-mother, roosting apart from
the tame ones, and in other respects showing the force of hereditary
disposition. The domesticated young, reared from the eggs of the
Wild Turkey, are often employed as decoy-birds to those in a state of
nature. Mr. William Bloom, of Clearfield, Pennsylvania, caught five
or six Wild Turkeys, when quite chickens, and succeeded in rearing
them. Although sufficiently tame to feed with his Tame Turkeys, and
generally, associate with thenas^graHgjgljM always retained some of their
.original^ sprOpensitfieS^ 'roosting1 by themselves,' and higher than the
tame birds,; generally omtftiertopmf some tree, or of the house. They
.were, also more readily :alarmedjf on the approach of a dog they
Would fly off, and sCCk safety in the nearest woods. On an occasion
of this kind, one of them flew across the Susquehanna, and the owner
•was apprehensive of losing it; in order to recover it, he sent a boy
with a Tame Turkey, which was released at the place where the
•fugitive had alighted. This plan was successful; they soon joined
company, and tl«5: tame, bird induced his companion to return home.
Mr. Bloom remarked, that the WiM Turkey will thrive more, and
keep in better condition, than the Tame, on the same quantity of
food.
Besides the above mentioned half breed, some domesticated Turkeys,
of a very superior metallic tint, are sold in the Philadelphia
and New-York markets as wild ones. Many of these require a practiced
eye to distinguish their true character, but they are always
rather less brilliant, and those I examined had a broad whitish band
at the tip of the tail coverts, and another at the tip of the tail itself,
which instantly betrayed their origin, the wild ones being entirely
destitute of the former, and the band on the tip of the tail being
neither so wide nor so pure.
; .In the following description we give the generic as well as the specific
characters of the Wild Turkey, in order to make it complete.
VOL. i .— b b