Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-11-24
ALL ABOUT TURKEYS.
THE AMERICAN BIRD ANoi Associ.
ALTON WITH TtsANKSGivlN6-pAY. /.
The WIND Fowl Preferable 20 the Domes-
tic-iiow They should be Dressed.
Cooked. and Carved.

The following article. prepared for the
DIsPaTcn by gentleman who il thorough
" familiar with the subject on which he
writes, Is especially interesting Just at this
time. a. to-day aud tomorrow viii be
largely devoted by housekeepers and their
assistants TO making preparations Tor big
Thanksgiving dinners:
In the minds Of oil good people Eovem-
Der - scored 20 Thanksgiving and the
turkey. A holiday appointed by the Presi-
dent, II becomes anetional affair, and IL Is
natural sequence that the galliuaceous
bird indigenous TO the country should be
part Of the festival.
benjamin Franklin suggested that the
wild turkey should be the emblem OF our
nation, II being peculiar 10 North America
generally but moro particularly to the lin
is of the United States. We cannot but
rejoice that the nobler bird, the kingiy
eagle. was preferred for the purpose. and
the turkey Is not slighted, He Is chosen
above all his Kindred az the piece Dc resist
aaoe OF the Thanksgiving feast, and II IS
sadly poor turkey indeed and apoor family
that do not meet TO celebrate the day.
The wild turkey Is q magnificent bird.
nis plumage OF coppery green has bril-
liant metallic lustre. tho naked head IS
bright blue. with wattles OF wonderful
purplish red. In his dress as well IS in his
size and the favor OF meat he far exceeds
bis domesticated brother. The wild tur-
kew IL now the rarest rs well Sc the best
game coming 10 our table. Feeding on
variety of grains and nuts, his flesh be-
trays the pre-eminence of none. IL - nu-
tritious. delicious, digestible, and delecta-
bic.
HUNTING WILD TURKEYS.
Shooting wild turkeys is cold sport.
The 6ocks. rarely exceeding two dozen IN
number, conceal themselves in the dense
and unfrequented forests. only venturing
forth TO CRAFTY the natural appetite OF
hunger. The would-be hunter, on discoy-
ering the tracks of the flock, follows the
trail until no finds its feeding-ground.
To this point he repairs in the cold OF O
winters morning before daylight. and con-
cealinr himself behind blind of under
brush he calls tho turkeys by whistling
through q dried turkey-leg bone, the
sound being similar to that utter
ed by the turkey-cock. Otherwise
the hunter must maintain complete
silence, and, like patience, sit slowly treez-
ing until the coming of the game. When
tho flock appears, II your triSger-hnger 10
not too numb, you blaze away with both
barrels. and with straight powder and
shot you secure G brace or more. Your
only chance for game is your first chance.
n Is impossible to follow the birds. so soon
thicket. making use of their legs rather
than their wings for the purpose. Bird or
no bird. the sport is endedfor the day. and
the frozen sportsman goes home hoping
for better luck the next time the glim-
mering plumage moves before his delight
ed eyes.
Cur domestic turkeys ancestors were
gay, wild fellows, but years and years OF
captivity have cowed his nature ana
brushed the lustYe from his feathers. The
wild turkey has been sent to other lands
and happily aeclirnated. To England the
bird was taken by the Cabot expedition IN
the early part of the sixteenth century.
There it has survived and prospered 20
make the Briton's Christmas dinner. 10
France the turkey was taken by the Jesuit
priests on returning from the New World
colonies and in localities of their adopted
country the bird is known as jesuit.
NOT RrMuHERATIyE BUSINESS.
Turkey-raising on large scale is not
highly remuDeTative, owing 10 the delicacy
of the young. thoy seeming to succumb to
the slightest provocation IN the way OF
cold or wet and the tremendous amount
OF feeding required. The turkey for mar
ket is raised principally by the small farm
err under the impression that II takes no
more to feed big fowl than small one,
and that being the case the larger the bird
the greater the money earned. in one
widely and gratities his tremendous appe-
lite often at the expense Of neighbours
wheat and oat-field. The flock that IL not
fed at home on cuTd-soaked corn, meal,
and cracked wheat helps himself TO what
ever grain he finds in newly-sown helds
and carries on a species OF husBing-oee III
the harvested corn crop.
Whenever there Is au indigenous supply
OF aeOrns or nuts the turkey feeds on
them by preference, his meat IN conse-
ouence ACQUIRING rich flavor. When WIND
and rain shower down the cbestnuts from
the frost-opened burTs the turkey goes
e.nutting he is in the woods at crack OF
day hugging close TO the trees awaiting
tho falling of the fruit. Along the At
lnptic or in the sandy land where peanuts
grow the turkey is an industrious harvest
or he scratches the hills and helps MIN
self 10 the tender-shell green peanut In
The more southern States the bird keeps
a weather eye on the pecan tree. ana
when these trees are threshed the gentle
man is always on hand to claim bis share
of the nuts. Turkeys so finely fed should
on account of their flavor command
higher price than the barn-yard fowl.
DRIVING THEM TO MARKET.
Before the days of refrigerating-carsa and
rand transit, and when markets Were en-
tirely dependent on and supplied by local
raisers. the turkeys were driven from their
suburban homes aud sold from the fiock
AZ the purchasers own door This STYLE
of suppiying the demand continued in the
south TO within the last few years. In the
last decade / saw large tiocks of the fat
tened umgainly, demurely- plumaged tur-
kew driven through the streets OF New
Orleans by their enterprising Creole vend-
ers. The music of the march was the
gobble OF some proud cock, mingled with
fha ueculiar squeak of the hen. The PIC
tures0ue sight and the unmelodious
sounds have both disappeared, the market
being now supplied at much cheaper rates
by western raised turkeys transported by
railroad aud already dressed.
Through q peculiar want OF wisdom on
the part Of the raisers the market ~
naturally with the over-supply the price OF
the turkey falls so that one comes within
range of the most modest purse. In truth,
the New Yorker buys his turkey more
cheaply than the purchaser at small local
market. The citizens benefit by an over
stocked market; but the smallest purses, TO
have the highest advantage OF the surplus,
Ynnst buv al the last moment Sometimes
the last man must content himself with u
second choice, the first having been taken
BY the blessed rich.
TIME TO RIPEN AND TENDER.
In our frosty latitudes it is practicable
and proper for our turkey TO be bought a
week before the festal day, That III NAV
ripeu and grow tender. With the bird
exhibited picked on the market-stall, it is
no difficult matter to select good one.
The best roasting turkey has a short car
casa and plump breast. Through tine skin
one should soc the golden light of slight
layer Of fat about the breast and wings:
the legs should be dark, smooth, and
glossy, any roughness or scaliness betray-
Ing a too prolonged tramp on earth Age
il also betrayed by the infiexibility of the
breast-bone. A turkey too long killed is
sunken about the eyes and greenish where
drawn.
Although ayoung turkey hen Is good boil
ed, the bird Is Matched generally tor roast
lng. The modern kitchen knowsnot thespit,
new inventions having crowded out that
most excellent implement. by means OF
which the most perfect roasting was accom-
plished. To-day our turkey goes into the
oven. and with q little attention he turns
out a very palatable dish.
DRESSING, REASONING. AND COOKING.
To make the turkey ready for the oven
u must be singed over a sheet OF clean,
burning paper then carefully washed in
aide and out q too prominent breast
bone must DO broken BY q quick blow
from wooden mallet then follows the