Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1889-11-30
THE MARTlNSBURG HERALD.
MELEAeRis eALLoPAvo.
Which is the botanical Name" of {
Patriotic THANKSGIVING Bird.

Which Is the Botanical Name" OF the
Patriotic Thanksgiving Bird.
II the fathers of the republic had been
granted the right and power to create a
truly patriotic and native American bird
especially for Thanksgiving, and exactly
suited for it, they could not possibly
have done better than nature had already
done. The turkey fills the bill. He is
toothsome, he is gamey, he is wholesome,
nourishing, and does not cloy. He ia
born at the right season, comes in" just
at the right time, is better by nature than
by cultivation, and he is exclusively
American. No other land has such a
fowl. He is not only American, he is
pan-American-that is, pan-North Amer
lean. From the woods of the upper
Saguenay to the forests of Florida, to
speak scientifically, meleagris gallopavo
is indigenous-in other words, the wild
turkey was found native to the woods.
His intellect also is peculiarly Ameri-
can. He is willy bird and does not
give himself away without sufficient
cause. He is ardent in love and savage
in war, like other Americans. Like
them, too, his ardor has often been the
death of him; for it is only by "calling"
that is, initiating the voice of his mate
that the hunter can lure the wild tur-
key towards him. The practice was
condemned by true sportsmen, for 1t was
only practicable during the season when
the turkey is not at his best. 1t is curl
Gus fact, and known to but few in these
wild turkeyless times, that the bird HIM
self furnished the bone which served to
"call" him to destruction. A single
bone, about as long as ones forefnger,
in each male turkey is hollow and Of
just the right shape for piping. With a
little practice any one with an average
ear can eject the breath through 1t in q
way to make an exact imitation OF the
female turkeys love notes. Atany rate,
it is exact enough to deceive the male.
DR.. Franklin may have been joking
When he suggested the turkey as the en-
btem Of the United States instead Of the
eagle, but his suggestion had much to
support it. The bird, as aforesaid, Is
native, exclusively American, willy and
warlike. He is also in his native state q
traveller and explorer. To the ordinary
rivers the wild turkey paid little heed.
The st. Lawrence and the Mississippi
often baffled him, for it is rare. indeed,
for a wild turkey to fly mile. Even at
his best estate he relies more on running
than flying. From marked and tagged
specimens turned loose after capture it
has been shown that the turkey travels
far. The great plains Of the west barred
his progress, however, as he insists on an
abundance of clean running water.
Meleagris gallopavo is gone, practical
ly extinct in most of the country, but he
is tolerably well represented by Melea-
girls Americana-the common farmyard
fowl-and in Europe the descendants Of
those turkeys which William Strickland,
lieutenant to Sebastian Cabot, carried to
England, are numbered by millions and
are classified in several species and va
rieties. From the cradle to the grave
the domestic turkey is interesting. First
are the delicately tinted and lovely
speckled eggs, and in caring for them
the female almost resumes her wild ma
ture. She conceals her nest with rare
talent, rarely approaches it twice by the
same route, and always makes wide
circuit in leaving it for the barnyard,
coming in from some other direction
with an innocent air that is amusing.
The young are almost as tender as babies;
it is in August that the growing bird be-
gins to show what is in him. AS the
fruitful autumn advances he takes on
the high and glossy shades of adult life,
and in November is in just the right
stage to be sacrificed, and most gener-
ally is Peace to his hashes!