The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1894-11-29
THn THANKSGIVING TURKEY.
Glance az the History ana Antece-
dents OF Popular Bird.

81
dents OF q Popular Bird. {.
When. In the month Of November,
the fields look cold and drear and the
leaf '''incessant rustles from the mourn
ful grove, then comes to US, like .
burst Of sunshine on q gray day, that
unique creation Of our forefath hers
Thanksgiving day.
The browning Joy Of thanksgiving
is the reunion of friends and at no
time Is the satisfaction more complete
then when, gathered around the table
they look with admiring eyes at that
autocrat of the dinner table, the tur-
key, Ri 81
We are not an mquiring race. It Is
our habit to eat what is set before us,
asking no questions. Yet, at this time,
1t might be interesting to know some
thing Of the life and history of-let US
whisper it confd ently our favorite
bird. Happily it is native Of Ameri.
ca, although like. all the early natives
Of the country, bearing misleading
name. Its ancestors are to be found
away in the west beyond the NIissis-
sippi and in the far south. In France
1T has been cooliy assigned to India,
and is called 'Poule d'Inde," while the
| more accurate Germans, in calling Il
'Kalekutische Hahn" locate 1t in Cali
cuty, on the western shore of India
A historian Of turkeys tells us that 1t
| was introduced into England during
the reign of Henry VIII At that time
the wealth Of the country was in the
| hands Of the merchants who traded
with Turkey and whose ships sailed
the Levant. Consequently, anything:
that was new and fashionable, Wheth-
| er carpet or fowl, was dubbed Turkey.
Would it not be patriotic deed to
| give our native name more worthy OF
| it's name?
! 49,. H. .%. A Tender Fowl. STU
Although the wild birds are hardy
he ,domesticated inhabitants Of the
barn-yard are tender and difficult to
rear. They are the prequisities and
and care Of the farmers wife and
daughters, and no one save a farmers
| wife knows the amount of work and
watchfulness thep entail From the
early spring time when, with the inner
tied Wildness OF her nature, she tries
to hide her nest, often causing long
hours Of watching or seeking lest the
eggs should get Chilled" until in the
fall the brood passes into the hands
Of the buyer, they are constant anx.
iety. -.".
A turkey hen lays about twenty eggs
choosing nest on the ground, for shs
loves moisture When the eggs are
Matched, the lanky, il-shapen birds re-
quire food as carefully prepared as for
some dyspeptic. Lard, eggs. green food
pepper and meal are mixed and fed,
vet in spite if all the knowledge OF
poultry lore some will nope and stand
with dishevelled feathers, dull eyes and
dropping wings looking the embodiment
of misery until death, ensues.
They must be carefully housed till
the dew is dried by the sun or the
young will die. A sudden rain storm
takes all the members of the family
| who are interested out to search for the
wanderers They are not home loving
and will disappear for days or weeks
to be found in the woods or swails lux
uriating on grasshoppers or perhaps
depleted by their natural enemy, the
fox.
When the grain begins to ripen they
find their way to the fields and help
themselves, not always to the farmer
liking. They frequent the orchards, de.
| vouring apples and stripping grapevines
with rapidity unequalled by any
.. small boy, and the worst of it is that all
authorities agree that fruit makes tur.
, keys, 'poor ''They strike up friendly
. relations with neighbOring f1ocks of the
same color and size, thereby making
confusion unless precaution has been
l taken to
l Mark the Respective Flocks.
l NV or h
breaking off the first point Of the little
toe. s-s.. ,-.. ..ss*
When the final fattening and prepare
, ton for market is over the good wife
e proudly views her treasures with thu
ii creamy, solid meat and the great sean
s Of fat obliterating all trace Of the back
!, bone. It is something to be told a
j, the fireside when the great gobble
r reaches the mark of thirty pounds O.
d stretches out toward the fOrties.
) While in this country the turkey an,
: Thanksgiving are almost synonymous
n in Canada and in England it is NOR
/, | closely associated with the festivitie
u Of Christmas. Just before the holiday
e large cargoes are sent from Canada t
il England. They are killed, frozen IAN
s then shipped, packed in their oWl
) feathers. There the feathers are pu
n 4 10 a VdflCty VI USES. luc &c OuC
+. plucked from the wings are used a
= points for arrows, being much bette
= for that purpose than those Of eagles
), so often celebrated in, poetry and song
;, The body feathers are made into dus
3 tiers and the tail feathers are used 70
? making salmon flies. At one tim
: French ladies shaded their eyes wit
y parasols made by joining four Of th
tails together.
But this is not ali! In Italy the ct
gard serves peculiar purpose. A
italian psychologist showed that it wa
powerful enough to grind down til
points Of needles and lancets place
within it. Since then the italian dea
ers have used it in preparing seals an
ornaments for sale as antiquities frol
Pompeii They put them down tt
gizzard of the live fowl and allow the
to remain there until the grinding a
n tion Of the horny skin has given the
the dull corroding appearance tn,
time had stamped upon the real arr
tS clos 80 fl t7fiS[4sf TIL III ri.