Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-11-25
THE NATIONAL BIRD
President Cleveland and President Elect Nc
Kinleys Thanksgiving Turkeys.
How Choice Specimens Are Selected
for Distinguished Recipicnts-
Bryan to Get One Chrfstmas.
of the Evening Star.


PROVIDENCE, r. l., November "a, 1896.
President Cleveland is to have his Rhode
Island turkey for Thanksgiving this year
as usual, and this time President-elect
Mckinley will also be remembered in the
same way.
Sunday a busy day in Westerly, X.
l., for the poultry dealers. The annual
slaughter OF birds for Thanksgiving oc
| Cured on Friday and Saturday, and Sun
day the dealers were busy packing them
for shipment in the afternoon and early
Monday morling. 1t is generally agreed
that Rhode Island turkeys are the best
in the market Vermont is poor second,
anG the western turkeys lack that richness
| and that grasshoIper flavor which is char
acterlStlc OF the bird fed and tended 10y
Yankee farmers. Another reason why The
Rhode lsiaad turkey is highly priced is
because the farmer here understands the
| art of sticking a turkey. Long expert
ence and experiment have made him as
perfect in the use OF the knife the skill
full surgeon is in his sphere.
| But there will be many purchaser VINO
will buy western bird this year under the
| impression that he is getting a Rhode
| Islander. for the dealers, because of poor
weather and miserable ours, have been
unable to obtain the usual number but
| there are some choice birds, and the ce-
lehrities are not being forgotten.
Selecting the Executive Birds.
Westerly is the great shipping town, and
is noted as the place from which Presi-
dents turkeys have been sent for many
| years. The sender of the turkey for the
President is Horace VCse. The method by
which he secures mis- turkeys and prepares
| them for market is interesting. During
| the year he makes agreements with farm
ers all over Rhode Island and adjacent
| parts of Connecticut. When it comes time
| for the annual slaughter the farmers never
| decaptate 4 turkey. They make a small
| inc.slon in its reck and allow ii TO bleed
| to death. Neither do they scald turkeys,
| an operation that removes patches of skin
with the feathers. They pick the birds
| dry. The result is that the turkey has a
| clean. sweet pink appearance, without a
blen:sh of the skin. Pennsylvania poul-
trymen are initiating this process this
year. The Sunday before Thanksgiving the
dealers pack the birds and ship by freight
tnat afternoon. Monday evening all eX-
| press shipments are made
From all the turkeys received Mr.. Vose
selects the finest, ard the President of the
United States, be he republican or dem
| ocrat, is the recipient. Mr.. Nose furnish
! ed the bronze turkey that Senator An
thony of Rhode Island sent to President
Grant and the turkeys that eX-Sena tor
| Dixon sent to President Harrison, but in
recent years Mr.. Ncse has contributed the
| bird himself
The one intended for President Cleveland
| this year was raised by First Selectman
| Il. Frank Williams of Stonington. Storing-
ton is in Connecticut. but so near the di-
| VtdIng line from Rhode Island that it is
| only nsces sary 10 cross bridge to go from
| one state to the other and consequently
| the turkey is to all 'intents and PURPOSES
| Rhode Island bird, though really raised
| just over the border of the state. The
| turkey is bronze. and was one OF fiftv-
| eight selected birds, whose weight aSgre-
| gated ID pounds. Its weight Sunday
| morning when placed On the scales vas
| thirty-two pounds. and all in all il vas the
| finest Presidents turkey ever shipped from
| Westerly. though there have been some
| that weighed more, the heaviest tippinE
| the scales at th:rty-nine pounds. President
| Clevelands turkey was shipped 20 Wash
| lngton Monday morning.
Mr.. Mckinley to Get One,
| One of the most jubilant republicans at
| the recent election was Judge W. H. HILL
ard of Stonington, staid citizen and a
| dignified Sunday school superintendent. He
| told his friends that he intended to do the
| handsome thing if Mckinley was elected
Monday morning he fulfilled his promise.
| On an early express the hanGsomest and
| gnest bronze gobbler that ever went out of
! North StonilIgton was started on its Jour
ney to Canton. Chic The departure of the
| bird was quite an occasion in the little
village and one of the ladies of the town
| wrote and sent a poetical letter with it
Accompanying it was also card bearing
| this inscription: To Major Mckinley Pres
| ident-elect of the United States, with the
| respectful and admirinS compliments of
| William Horace Hiilard, North Stoning;on
| New London county, CONNECTICUT. Thanks
giving, 1896.
The shipments this year are considerably
| less than i'm previous years. To Providence
| have been shipped 1l,57o pounds and to
| Boston 3,2i1 pounds: total of 14.Sl1
pounds, as compared with 1341i pounds 10
| Providence and 2.263 pounds TO Boston last
| year.
| The eleventh annual exhibition of the
| Rhode Island Poultry Association is TO be
| held in Westerly December 9, Ia. IL and L.
| and at this VIII DE exhibited three turkeys
which Mr.. Nose has already selected to
send to President Cleveland, President-elect
| Mckinley and Mr.. William ]. Bryan as
| Christmas gifts. They will not be killed,
of course, until after the show.