The Penn's Grove record., 1912-11-22

ner a dlme-and h became rich from
this humble beginning.
My "giblets," too (heart, liver and
%gizzard), are used by the thrifty
housewife, who chops them fine after
cooking them in the dripping pan with
the bird" and then adds them to the
already rich gravy for home con-
sumption"
My gizzard is a sort Of mill where
my food is crushed, being the second
or true stomach, after being softened
in the first one, the crop" in the
lower part of the neck.
My wishbone has a longer name,
furculum, from the Latin word that
means fork. The meaning is obvious.
AS to my plumage, first are the
contour feathers" These give out
line, color and are the ornamental ap-
pendages. These feathers are moved
by muscles which are located under
the skin, give me a chance to spread
myself" by brushing the ground with
my wings, erecting my body and tail
feathers until l seem twice my usual
size while strutting about and utter
ing my "gobble." That word, by the
way, is Old English.
Under my contour feathers are the
"downy" ones, or those whose bar
bules do not interlock to give them
firmness.
The ~"coverts," from the French ito
hide" are the small feathers which
cover the bases of the stems of the
larger ones, as on the wings and tail,
the under-tail coverts forming the
crissum.
The tail feathers are the retrices,
feminine form of the Latin word for
governor, as these feathers perform
that office, acting as a guide, rudder,
or governor when l am in flight.
the tail feathers, the great quill
feathers of the wings, are the remiges,
or oarsmen, of our tribe. They do the
heavy pulling in flight, as the oar does
in rowing. These form the spread of
the wing and are stiff, strong and
"pe%nnaceous," pen-like. My tail feath-
ers and upper-tail coverts are tipped
with a beautiful chestnut brown or
bronze in my wild state, and with
white in my tame state.
In the savage life of the forest 1
am likely to attack my own children
(poults, they are called and be in
turn attacked and beaten off by my
wife in their defense. Then l get
mad" and hunt up other maltreated
turkey husbands whose hens will not
let them run the house. We go away
in groups Of a dozen to a hundred, and
we do the tramp act to perfection,
until mating time arrives, when we
generally get into a pretty fierce fight,
a "free-for-all."
We were introduced into Europe
early in the sixteenth century, and in
many places have become natural
lied"
The wild members Of our tribe are
disappearing before the onward march
of civilization, but we domestic tur-
keys are increasingly appreciated and
are being raised in so great numbers
that l have heard it stated authorita-
lively that If the turkey money were
applied to the national debt it would
be wiped out in less than ten years.
Turkey eggs are from nine to ff-
teen at a "clutch"-the next compile
ment sometimes reaching twenty.
They are highly priced for eating by
some, and are Arge. with white shells
"freckled" with brown.
Our young turkeys are delicate,
needing careful watching for a few
weeks, as the hen turkey is likely to
take them off OF long tramps In wet
grass during the early morning, and
they are not often able to endure this
heroic treatment! We turkeys feed
on grass, grains. fruits, vegetables,
insects and even "gobble" young frogs
and lizards,k picking up a living al
most anywhere
Ol1r hast i1nroaCnc uffh Az Sr--l