The Coolidge examiner., 1936-01-10

ting, gobbling, and otherwise max
ing love to the females.
AS the mating season advances
the gobbler usually becomes quite
thin, as the reservoir of fat is used
up. There is no pairing Off in cOu
| pies, as in the case of many other
wild birds, for the wild turkey male
is polygamous in the extreme and
loves a large harem. Bitter fights
among the old males are common
the victor claiming the harem OF
the vanquished. The defeated male
must perforce seek battle with an
other for the possession of anOth-
| er flock of females, or he is obliged
to join a group of discOnsolate
bachelors"
The females select secluded spots
| for their nests and make a slight
depression in the ground, into
which a few dry leaves are
scratched. From eight to fifteen
eggs, somewhat smaller and more
pointed than those of the domestic
varieties, are laid.
After four weeks of incubating
the baby turks, or pOults, appear
covered with gray down, dotted
with dusky spots, and with two
| duSky stripes running from the
| top of the head down the sides of
| the back. The down is soon re
placed by feathers, which are re-
| placed by another coat of feathers
when the birds mOlt. The mOlting
season begins in August, and by
| the latter part of December all of
| the old feathers have been replaced
by new ones.
The young gobbler acquires his
beard" in the center of the breast
by November and it continues to
grow rapidly until the third year
and thereafter more slowly.
Plenty of Enemies.
| This large and magnificent wild
| bird has always had numerous en-
emies, such as the fox, coon, mink
skunk, wolf, lynx, and coyote. Its
bird enemies include owls, eagles
and hawks. One writer says
There is never moment in the
poor turkeys life that eternal vigi.
lance is not the price of its exist
| ence" Not only must the turkey
be on guard every hour of the day
! but it must also seek rOoSting
| places that are more or less mac
| cesSible to its natural enemies
For this reason turkeys favor trees
/ growing in shallow water, which
seems to provide some protection
from night prowlers.
In early colonial days wild tur.
keys were very numerous in MaSSa.
chusettS, and at the beginning OF
the Nineteenth century they could
be purchased for six cents each
while large birds, ranging from y
TO 80 pounds, sold for % cents
each. When COrteZ first visited the
| capital of Mexico, mo less than SOC
turkeys, the cheapest meat in Mex
leo. were allowed for the feeding
of the vultures and eagles kept In
the royal aviaries."
The turkey was first introduced
into Spain in 1919 by Francisco
Fernandez. From that country il
spread throughout Europe and Eng
land, being introduced into the lat
ter country in 1924. There is q
verse to the effect that:
Turkeys, carps. hopes, picarel
and beer,
Came into England all in one
year"
That the domestic turkey was
still relatively rare in 1041 is EN-
phasized by the fact that in thai
wear "ArchbiShop Cranmer prOhib
tied the appearance at state feSti
| walls of more than one dish of tur
KEY cocks: the female was too pre-
cious to be cooked at that period
Fourteen years later two turkeys
and two turkey poults were served
at a grand lawn dinner. Twenty
years afterwards the turkey be
came a Christmas dish with the
farmer"
In recent years dressed turkey,
have been imported into the United
States from Hungary, Russia, Aus
tria, and Ireland, and large mum
bers come from Argentina. Sucl
is the irony of fate; being indigo
nous to the United States and eX
listing here in countless numbers
the wild turkey was dOmeSticated
and later taken to other countries
from which it is now imported il
the dressed" form.
In Texas, Colorado, and the Da
kOtaS many flOckS of a thousand OIL
more birds are raised annually
Frequently these large flocks are
herded on the prairies in much the
same manner as are sheep anC
cattle.