Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-12-23
HOW TO PICK YOUR TURKEY
Expert on Gobblers Tells How Sim.
pie it is When You Really
Know How.
SOME SIGNS OF TENDERNESS

The purchase Of a Christmas turkey
ought not TO be the gamble that It
sometimes Is. The selection Of tender
toothsome bird. old enough to be we'll
Favored but young enough 20 be psls-
table, is really very simple operation
once you know how"
The speaker was a man who prob
ture. A lengthy title. which might easily
ably knows more about turkeys, their
breeding and their selection than any
one in the Unted Subsidiary NJ
one in the United states-Harrey NJ
investigation OF the bureau of animal
industry OF the Department OF Agricul-
be shortened into Uncle Sans Turkey
Expert
The best turkey for home consump-
tlon,' continued this man, who has
studied turkey raising in all parts of
the country, lis one about a year old
| II it is too young the meat will taste
nat; II It is too old the labor Of mas
tication will probably be too hard. AS
a general thing a hen turkey is better
than a 'gobbler', end care must be ex-
ercised to insure tenderness by feeling
or the flesh and lifting up the wing 20
see whether the skin breaks easily. The
older a bird the tougher the skin.
| The Point of a Turkey.
Then, too. the respective buyer should
see that the turkey is we'll fleshed across
the loins or thighs. The average buyer
looks at the breast of a turkey and lets
1t go at that. The thighs are a much
better criterion. II the bird Is we'll fleshed
there, II Is almost a certainty that II
will prove abundantly supplied with
meat on the breast. and the contrary
is not always the rule. Consideration OF
these two points-age and the degree Of
flesh-will insure to the purchaser the
maximum of return for the money in
vested, and will make the principal part
| or the Christmas dinner a feast for an
epicure.
There Is one more point that I ought
to emphasize: Do not select too small
turkey for the number Of persons you
expect to feed. II you don't care to
cook very large turkey. fearing that II
may be old and tough, invest In two small
ones-but, by all means. have enough and
to spare. That is. in some respects, the
! most important of all the points to be
observed In the. purchasing of the holt
day fowl"
In answer to an inquiry as to the pros
poets for the Christmas crop of turkeys
this year, Mr.. Larnon said
The outlook was never better. Re-
ports from all sections OF the country
Indicate that this will be banner win
ter for the American national bird
Thanksgiving showed that turkeys were
abundant and, in most sections of the
United States, comparatively cheap The
price will naturally rise a few cents be-
fore Christmas-the result of the inexor-
able law of supply and demand-but, at
that, I do not think that It will come
near the high mark set in other years
Texas in the Lead.
I'm the first place. there IL larger
crop OF turkeys from Texas this year
than last. Texas is the best state In the
union when II comes to turkey raising.
good many Of the birds also come
| from Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky.
California. too, Is breaking into the tur>
key game on large scale. but not SO
many of its birds are to be found in the
east, California may some day monopo-
lize the turkey trade; they have the
habit OF doing things very we'll out
there-but at present the center OF the
industry remains in the southern United
States.
The annual turkey drive is we'll on its
way by this time. the crest of the first
Thanksgiving. The second influx reaches
It's high-water mark shortly before
Christmas, and the time then recedes
until. shortly after February /. turkeys
| become scarcer and scarcer
Many persons. whose sole acquaintance
with the national bird consists Of con-
Stunning 1t at the table. are unaware of
the fact that there are many kinds and
varieties Of turkey, not all Of then.
| suited for home consumption. The bronze
turkey is the most popular and there
fore the one that Is most In demand in
the eastern markets. Texas raises great
numbers of these birds. and there are
many OF them TO be found in northern
New York and central Illinois. II lie
from these turkey centers that the New
York and Boston markets are princi-
pally supplied, the transportation charges
rendering 1t inexpedient TO import birds
from the Texas or California market.
Great Turkey Parades.
Texas, particularly, has been unceas-
ing in its efforts to break into the ex-
elusive turkey trade of the big cities.
and everything possible has been done
to foster the raising of these birds In
the Lone Star state. 1t was there that
the turkey trot originated-no, l don't
mean the dance (thd Is supposed TO
have started on the San Francisco Bar
barry coast. believe)-the turkey trot
mean Is an annual celebration intended
TO foster turkey raising, Great turkey
parades are held and prizes awarded to
the most valuable birds. The turkeys
are sold in large quantities. thousands
at a time, right on their feet, and the
trots' are becoming more and more oc-
casions for rivalry between breeders, and.
therefore, assist greatly In the propaga-
ton OF the better species. America is
the premier turkey country OF the world.
and it is only fitting that everything
possible should be done by us TO bring
this fowl to the highest state OF perfec-
ton.
Rhode Islands Distinction.
THE growing of turkeys appears TO
have improved as a result of a deter
mined effort on the part Of producers of
what is known as 'standard-bred' or 'ex-
hibition stock to demonstrate that it is
more profitable to use pure breeding
stock than the smaller and less vigorous
stock of days gone by. 1t is due to
those efforts that the turkey-growing in