Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1916-11-30
Once more the liberal year laughs out
Ger richer stores than gems of gold;
Once more, with harvest song and shout
Is natures bloodless triumph told.

descended from the three forms known
as the North American bird, which has
just been described; the Mexican bird
and the ocellated bird.
Credit May Belong to spaniards.
The turkey which was first intro
duced into Europe may have been car
ried there by the Spaniards from Mex
leo or the Jesuits may have taken ii
back across the waters from one of
their scattered stations in the great
woods of Canada. In any event, one
of its representatives figured at the
marriage banquet of Charles TX and
was regarded as of sufficient impsr-
lance to be mentioned In the reports
of that festivity.
The Mexican turkey is the wild bird
of Mexico, which also came over the
line into the southern part of the
United States. Meleagris Gallopava
is the name that is generally employed
to describe this turkey. 1t is some
what shorter in the shank than the
northern species. It's body color Is
a metallic black, shaded with bronze.
This is thought to be the species that
the early navigators first bore back
to Spain and England. The white tips
of its plumage also have suggested
that it is to this bird rather than to
the wild turkey of North America
that most of the domestic fowls owe
their origin.
The ocellated turkey, Meleagris Ocei
lata, which is smaller than the 9th.
ers, has a bare head and neck. Its
body plumage is bronze and green,
banded with gold bronze and varied
with spots or eyes Of brilliant colors--
blue, red and brilliant black.
Why Is a Turkey SO Named?
Why the turkey is called the tur.
key when it's origin is admittedly pure
ly occidental is subject that has puz.
zled many persons. There are several
reasons given by those who have
delved deeply into this problem, and
one is privileged to take his choice.
In the first place, it is stated that the
turkey was originally supposed to
have come from Asia. Thus at a
time when a great stretch of territory
on the Asiatic continent was called
Turkey" the bird derived it's name
from its supposed origin. Another
speculative chronicler records that the
Indians called the bird "firkeeS and
that from this it's common name was
created. Then, again, it is somewhat
generally believed that the bird named
itself by it's peculiar utterances, which
are still translated as "turk-tur
turkee." Again, still more subtle phllos-
ophers have traced the naming of
the bird to its kinship in the matter
of polygamous habits with the Turks,
and there are other explanations.
The pilgrims were not so bad off
in some ways as we have been led to
imagine, for although they were de-
prived of the joys of timed meats and
vegetables and cold storage and SIM
liar blessings turkeys were so plenti-
full that it is recorded it was custom.
airy to refer to them as bread. An
other chronicler sets forth the fact
that the breast of the wild turkey
when cooked in butter was esteemed
by even the epicures among the ex-
plorers. But in spite of their abun.
dance turkeys were regarded with ia
vor even by the red men, if one is to
judge by the following prayer which
they uttered:
"Oh great Being, I thank thee that
l have obtained the use of my legs
again so that am able to walk about
and kill turkeys"