Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1900-11-24

| thirty pounds. The largest turkey i
have raised about here | sent 10 Gen
eral Grant for his first Thanksgiving
dinner in the White House. 1t weighed
thirty-siX pounds and it was a KING
bird. l hope to send Il better one to
President Mckinley this year.
Yes" continued Mr.. Vose. this is
a great country for turkeys. but there
are not one-twentieth as many raised
as there used to be. simply because
FARMERS here cannot compete win
western and Southern growers.
used to ship as high as twcnty-eiGht
tons week. Now / ship only ten
| tons during the season. / ship great
many mongrel geese. Most of my
| stock is sent to Boston and Provi
dence, although / ship thousands and
thousands of pounds to New York. !
am held responsible for the condition
of every bird. Boston pays better
| prices than any city in the Union
This year l am shipping a great many
turkeys to army officers stationed in
Manila. in Porto Rico, and Cuba. |
| nave also large orders to fill from
South Africa. All birds are brought
to me dressed and drawn. l never
ship bird that is not drawn. There
are millions of pounds of turkeys sold
in New York as Rhode Island turkeys
that never saw this state. Every
farmer gets twenty five cents Il pound
for his turkeys delivered here
dressed
\ drive of three miles brings one to
the turkey farm of II. D. Miner. From
the ordinary viewpoint it is not much
lures and green fields. no herds of cat
tie. no fine COW or horse stables-a cow
would starve there and one would
have TO hold sheep up by the tail
while it nibbled the few blades of grass
| which grow between the rocks and
stones. 1t is uphill all the way from
| Westerly. and it is cold barren
stony plateau. with here and there =
| clump of scrub oak and choke cherry
trees. and all over a low growth OF
wild shrubs. II is. however. an ideal
place for raising turkeys. and for this
| purpose the Miner acreage is worth
more than the finest dairy farm in
| Herl<imcr or orange county. in New
York state. There are 200 turkeys on
| the Miner farm. and this is a large
| flock for one farmer 10 raise. In the
|
| gathered We're several breeds of tur-
! keys. There We're the White Holland,
which is considered dainty in flavor.
| The celebrated NarraGansett gays
| formed q pretty bit of cooring over
| against a group Of dwarf cverGrveEs.
| These turkeys are exclusive and fool;
by themselves. Mingled among The
Hook We're several of tn. Wisconsin
| l.,,g Il 4.
We're some beautiful blue birds bred
| fIom the Kentucky wild turkt: and
! the Narragansett rrays. Eut over mi
! and finer than all struttcd the mag
niicent Rhode Island bronze turkey
cocks. with their flocks OF hens not
deigning TO notice the other poor white
trash ana the equally despiscd yellows
blues and grays.
! III the turkeys on the Miner farm
are raised from pedisreed stock OBJ
i tanned at the various stock farms
! Turkeys are not raised from tn
oubators. this method never HI Wing
proved success. They are migratory
| birds; they wander all over the farms
and start their nests wherever fancy
| leads them. and wherever they lay
| their eggs there they hatch them. II
| they are disturbed they will often de-
sert their nests. and thus all the eggs
| are added and the expected hock
| lost. They begin setting about NAV |.
| ana it takes twenty-eight days befor"
the little ones peck their way through
! the shells. Often 4 turkey viii set on
! her eggs until she is half starved be
| fore she will come out to get food.
! Then she will steal back in a round
about way. fearing some one will find
her nest. Whenever it is possible to
do 50 the farmer puts feed near the
nest. so the hen does not have to leave
her eggs long enough for them to get
| chilled. II is cheaper raising turkeys
than ducks or other fowl. as they do
not have TO have houses to lay or
roost in. They roost on fences or up
in the trees. They are fed on fine
ground corn. mixed with water when
they are little chicks. Then as they
grow larger cracked corn is their sole
food. with the exception of patent
poultry food.
The turkeys are killed week before
Thanksgiving by being hung I"
horizontal poles their wings tied down
end their feet weighted: they are
stuck in the roof of the mouth. an"
hang TIL tneX cease uuiNe1iiS' tllt't
they are dry picked. their heads and
feet left on. and also the wing feath-
ers They are drawn. according to the
requirements of law Of the state.
H. D. Miner who manages the farm
for his father. Elias II: Miner. sends
most OF his turkeys to Providence. get
ting never less than Twenty-Five cents !;
pound for them. Mr. Miner takes great
pride in his stock of monGrel geese.
which are cross between the wild "a |
madam and the South African wild geese. |
They are monstroliS birds. almost as big |
as swan. and with equally as long neckS. |
Their color is dark gray and brown. |
with a streak of almost black feathers |
down each side OF their necks. They are |
sold in Providence. Newport ana Boston |
for forty cents IL pound. In New York |
one never sees them. except at one or |
two highpriced markets. where they |
bring fifty and sixty cents a pound.
There are three breeding bronze turkey !
cocks in the Miner farm that weigh nity |
pounds each. They are a sight to behold |
Their feet are as big as those Of an os- |
trich.
There persons even in Westerly who |
do not believe the Rhode Island turkey is |
any better than those raised in other |
states. Those old fellows down there |
who do not raise. sell or buy turkeys are |
fond of telling a story which they think |
is good joke on those who do. and |