Evening star., 1916-11-26
yild Turkey in the United States

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The enemies of the wild turkey are, apart
from man with his traps and guns, the
wolf, fox, lynx, mink, skunk, raccoon,
oposSun. eagle. hawk and horned owl
The latter. Mr. Jordan often observes.
settles on limb near a turkey. and. in
a mournful voice, says. "Whoo." When
the turkey moves away the owl follows,
repeating his seeming inquiry more SOL
emnly each time. Inch 10y inch the tur-
key is driven to the end of the limb and
falls, ana the owl Kills it in the air as it
futtcrs in the darkness toward the
ground.
During the sixty years that Mr.. Jordan
spent i'll hunting and studying wild tur-
kryS he never saw or heard Of one that
died a natural death Nor" h. said
have | heard of any disease or epidemic
among them" Blackhestd = common dis
temper among domestic turkeys. has baf-
fed the doctors so far, and in regions
has made tna production OF turkeys not
only improbable, but practically out Of
the question
Crows also prey on wild turkeys not at
tacking the turkey itself but watching
its nest and eating the eggs when the tur-
Key goes away for food. The wild turkey
hen scratches a shallow trench in the
earth that conforms TO the shape of her
body and lines il with dry grass and
leaves. Though she tries further to con-
ceal her nest if she gets hungry and
means to do a little scratching Cor grain
IN wheat field near by she fails to no
-
movements. So 1t often happens that her
house is robbed during her absence.
After four centuries of domestica-
tlon the turkey of the farm viii hide
her nest in the woods. likely as not.
hatch her brood away from the sight
OF man and some day proudly return
to the barryard. with her children at
her heels. Breeders of turkeys Try. to
make life easier and more comfortabl.
for their hens by manufacturing nests
OF half-barrels and placing them in Sc
cluded places along the range. corr is
usually scattered near the nests The
bonus is sometimes accepted and the
hen temporarily locates herself in the
barrel
There two laying seasons among
turkeys each summer. During the first
one hen will lay from twenty to
twenty-five eggs and during the second
from fifteen to twenty eggs Sh. is
large enough to cover from sixteen to
eighteen eggs when She sets. 1t re-
quires four weeks to hatch a brood.
The hen ordinarily will not leave her
nest more than four or five times If
being young and foolish she deserts
her children to lay and set again,
some good, old motherly hen, with
without a family of her own. will adopt
the orphans and treat them we'll
The mother turkey of the woods
at her side until midwinter. BY that
time the brood is full-erown. The
young gobblers, Mr. McIlhenny says,
then leave their mothers and sisters
and form bachelor clubs among them
selves
Turkey society In the forests. from
December until early In the spring. is
made up of three divisions-the old
hens and the young hens, the young
gohblers and the old gobblers At
mating time, in March. there is
union. 1t is then that the old gobblers
strut and sobble and call to their
plural wives as well to the hunters.
At the moment the hens begin to set
the old sobblers. in couples and groups
up to twenty, again sequester them
selves from all but their own society.
so they i've in summer, autumn and win
ter. They never fight except when they
are showing off to the ladies and then
their combats are not mortal. The
rules OF their contests of strength per-
nit showing. pulling. pecking and wing
beating.
There is story, somewhere in
American history, Of a wild gobbler
that weighed sixty pounds. 1t be-
longs. perhaps. in the category with
the blue lions and green bulls that
Charles Dickens frequently saw on
tavern signs and which. though com
mon in art. were non n-existent in
nature.
No such turkey has ever been seen
either by Mr.. Jordan or any Of the
McIlhennys. Mr.. Jordan's heaviest
turkey weighed twenty-five pounds.
He saw one shot by another man that
weighed twenty-four pounds. 1t was
lean, however. and if fat might have
been from seven to nine pounds heavier.
This particular gobbler had lived In
one locality for more than fifteen years
and had been hunted during all that
time by men with guns and dogs and
counterfeit love calls.
Descendants of the wild turkey num-
ber. roughly. in this country, seven
families-the mammoth bronze, the
Narragansett. the buff. the white Hol-
land, the black. the slate and the
Bourbon red. The bronze, according TO
the Department of Agriculture, "hoIos
the post of honor" weighing as mucn
as thirty-six pounds.
Copyright. 1915. by James B. Morrov.l