The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-11-22
THE OLD TURKEY TENDER.

try whore this quaint axiom is accepted
and practised as the wisest philosophy Of
life extant; where the hills are rugged,
the white homes ana red barns prim and
neat; where evidences OF industry confront
you at every turn, and where the snow is
already beginning to fly, l joUrneyed to
tho home or the Thanksgiving turkey.
What Lynnhay Bay is to the oyster
so is Rhode Island to the turkey. To the
epicure, therefore there is only one fowl
TO serve upon the day when all the nation
joins in a common feast. The domain of
the gobbler includes goodly portion of
the little commonwealth, and, In some
places, extends beyond the Connecticut
border line. In all there are about thirty
large farms that are devoted exclusively
TO the breeding and raising Of the turkey
and the Christmas goose. The city OF
Westerly, X. l., forms the headquarters
of the raisers. Here il is that they find
their market, and il was from this point
that 1 made nay way into tnrkeyland.
AS soon as the busy little city was left
beh ind, mile upon mile Of moDotonous,
unbroken lines of stone fences rose and
fell with the undulation of the country,
with no signs of life visible excepting the
occasional flight Of a bevy OF quail or the
chat6ering OF big gray squirrel, which
raced along the wall at breakneok speed
and then eyed us saucily from between
the rocks. Finally an old wooden gate
suddenly loomed up in ths road wav.
There was hook to 1t, and il had to be
fastened after we had passed through.
Then. after n miles ride through the mar
row lane. we came TO the farmhouse, rest
ing on little knoll and surrounded by
several barns and the big orchard.
An old man, weatherbeaten and tanned,
fppt hs,h horst to tIG fn1l
by hundred or more turkeys, big and
little. gobbling, gobbling at the tol, of
their voices. They were not the least
taken aback rs we jumped out among
them. On tho contrary, they crowded
closer around us. their ranks increasing
steadily by turkeys who came on the run
from tho
Orchard, tho meadow, the deep tlnglsd
wildwood.
from the barn and from behind every
brush heap, craning their necks
eagerly To SEQ what was going on.
One OF the most notable traits Of the
turkey is curiosity. and all arrivals Mt the
farm, from tho returning school children
to the wandering peddlers, are afforded
similar reception.
The man in the center Of the flock was
Turkey miner the largest turkey
raiser i'm tho State Because OF this tho
neip hbors had conferred upon him that
most appropriate sobriqCet. so generally
had il been accepted that many had
nearly forgotten his first name.
so YOU came to see my turkeys, eby'
said Turkey miner. "Well, | guess I
ken show almost everything there is in
their species. lie gave a peculiar
chuckling call, ending in long shrili
whistle, that was instantly drowned In
a chorus of gobbles. Then more turkeys
came along on the run, and when their
noise had ceased he gave call again.
There S more of EN- 10 core, he said.
Turkeys came from every point of the
compass Gnd inside OF five minutes
Turkey Miner was surrounded by over
four hundred big birds, as plump and as
lively as only well bred turkeys oan Ee on
the eve of the Thanksgiving killing time.
There were turkeys of all conceivable
hues. 1hero were white anu bun turkeys
long. slim, gray turkoys; stately bronaos,
blacks and some that were n silvery blue.
Al hey moved restlessly about, impatient
for the corn they cX peotcd, and tbs sun
shine playing upon the gaudy feathers
produced brilliant picture of life and
color changing from the golden yellow
to the metallic green with Kaleidoscope
rapidity The scene was completed by the
arrival ( a stately full grown peacock,
which, with fan sprcau. stratted among
its cousins with all possible dignity.
OF the entire number PROBABLY two-
thirds were composed of the ordinary
imrnyaru turkev known rs the bronze.
The remainder was made up Of "buif
turkeys, whose plumagc was n rich
brown; 'Narragansett grays. "White
Hollands. blacks and good sprink-
ling Of wild fowls. Then there were
many turkeys which were tho result Of
the crossing ot these species. In the fall
Of the year all fowls are aliowSG.tO minglo
but durTrrV rfTr rrruttrTy season sf.ee4s4 et,fs
IL taken 20 keep the docks separate
The finest of all the turkeys from an
epicure's standpoint rs the cross between
the bronze and the wild turkey. They
bring the highest prices and the supply
l. seldom equal 90 the demand. The
meat combines the delicate flayur ~ the
wild fowl and the juicy sweetness Of the
tame turkey. The cross OF the wild and
the buif also produces fine turkey. tor
the latter arcsverv heavily built birds and
grow 10 a great size. The most Beautiful