HIS Is the season of the year when
the prospects for the turkey crop
outweigh almost all other questions
in the minds not only of produce
men , hut in the estimation of the
great mass of householders. The
supply , and consequently the prices ,
of turkeys have fluctuated so wide
ly In different years within the past
decade or two that there is always
an uncertainty In the minds of the
ultimate consumers akin to that
mystery that invariably envelopes
the "peach crop" early in the season. This ex
plains in a measure why many far-sighted citi
zens to whom a few cents per pound difference
i.in . price is ever a source of worry now make it
V a practice to order their Thanksgiving turkey-
\ long in advance and it explains , too , why many of
' the turkey buyers who handle the birds on a
large scale begin their rounds of the poultry
farms earlier in the season than was once their
wont and keep close tab on the growing fowl.
This "scouting" by the purveyors of our prin-
. clpal Thanksgiving delicacy is a wise move for ,
tA ) it known , weather con
ditions throughout the
spring , summer and au
tumn have a most import
ant bearing upon the tur
key crop at the end of
November. For instance ,
if a wet spring be encoun
tered great numbers of
the young turkeys suffer.
In some instances they
-are aimost literally
"drowned out" The au
tumn is a yet more
crucial time in the tur
key-raising industry. A
open autumn , even if it
be mild , is fairly auspi
cious , but the ideal condi
tion is found in cool ,
crisp , bracing weather
which Inspires the tur
keys to roam in search ot
food and causes them to
I
V
a saasg is m
fatten in prime condition. Such weather condi
tions also lighten the cares of the farmer who
does not devote his entire attention to turkeys ,
and who usually has so many other responsibili
ties that he is mighty glad when the turkeys can
shift for themselves to say nothing of the bene
fit to his pocketbook. These farmers and poul
try raisers , it may be added , are about the only
classes in our national community who never
need give a thought to a bird for the home table
on Thanksgiving. There is always some sort of
a turkey for the gathering round the festive board
at the homestead. We may digress for a moment ,
too , to add that in late years there has come a
great change' in sentiment on the part of many
of the farmers as to the Thanksgiving turkeys
for their own tables. In days gone by there
was often a disposition to regard almost any old
gobbler as sufficient for the home folks. All the
choice birds were sent to market , because they
would bring the best prices , and the farmer and
his household not infrequently had to put up
with the leavings , as it were. Latterly , however ,
as greater prosperity has come to so many of
the farmers there is a growing disposition to re
gard the best as none too good for the kings of
the soil , and this applies to turkeys as to every
thing else. Consequently it is usual for the
progressive farmer to retain one of his tenderest
birds for the kith and kin that break bread with
him on Thanksgiving , and not infrequently the
chosen bird has been singled out from the others
long in advance and is specially fattened in ac
cordance with the tastes of the family.
There has been much discussion on the part of
the public in recent years regarding the compara
tive scarcity of small turkeys that is six to eight
pound birds in the Thanksgiving market. There
is no difficulty in fixing the responsibility for this
disappearance of the small turkeys. It is due to
the growing tendency among turkey raisers to
devote their best efforts to the "bronze" variety
of fowl the largest variety of the bird. The
lure of the American love of bigness has made
Itself felt in the turkey realm , and the 30 to 36
pound birds which have attracted so much atten
tion at fashionable hotels and on banquet boards
have come to be regarded as the most desirable
specimens of that fowl , which becomes for one
day each year our national bird.
While rummaging in some boxes to
which he had fallen heir from a for
mer tenant of the house he lives in at
Lander , Wyo. , Pat Curry came across
what appeared to be an ordinary blue
serge coat. He tried to haul it from
the box and it required both hands to
get it out.
Curry at first thought he had round |
a treasure coat and that it contained
gold coin. When he lifted It out of
the box it gave forth a metallic rattle.
He slit one of the pockets and discov
ered that between the serge and the
heavy silk lining was concealed a com
plete suit of steel armor. The steel
plates are two inches square , a six
teenth of an inch in thickness , perfor-
* !
> * -
keys constitute the most profitable class of poul
try if properly handled. As a matter of fact ,
from the time the turkey is six weeks old he
virtually makes his own livelihood , wandering
around and eating bugs , grasshoppers , waste
grain and other eatables that if not an actual pest
are useless to the farmers. To be sure , some of
the fancy turkey raisers are credited with fatten
ing their Thanksgiving offerings on milk and
chestnuts and other delicacies , but they get for
such fancy fowl prices sufficiently higher than th ©
regular quotation to recompense them for their
trouble.
An expert who recently made an Investigation
of the turkey raising industry on behalf of the
United States government declares that turkeys
can , if grown in a favorable locality , be made to
return a profit to the growers if sold as low as
eight cents per pound , live weight , whereas if
they bring three or four cents per pound above
that figure , as they usually do , the turkey grower
should feel well satisfied with his occupation.
Now , as a matter of fact , there are few sections
of the country where at Thanksgiving time tur-
It must be admitted , however , that the bronze
variety of turkey not only holds the post of honor
because of its size and its rich plumage but also ,
in the estimation "of many epicures , because of its
flavor as well. There is no doubt that the size of
the bronze variety its standard weight ranges
from 16 to 36 pounds is to be attributed to the
fact that the birds of this family originated from
a cross between the wild and the tame turkey.
For that matter , the wild turkey of North Amer
ica was the ancestor of all our present-day do
mestic turkeys , but the "crosses" which have
been made in the case of the bronze variety have
been particularly fortunate in inducing mammoth
size. However , one of the officials of the depart
ment of agriculture recently declared that the
bronze turkey had been developed too much in
the direction of size , and if he can convert the
turkey raisers to his way of thinking we may
see some years hence an era of smaller bronze
turkeys of even finer flavor than those regarding
which such enthusiasm has been manifested by
lovers of the good things of life.
Of course ( .he vaunted bronze variety Is not the
whole thing in turkeydom , for there are six other
standard varieties , the branches of the family in
addition to the bronze , being , the Narragansett ,
the buff , the slate , the white , and the black.
Many people who think that we have been en
joying pretty appetizing turkey from time out of
mind may be surprised to learn that the prestige
of the turkey as an article of food was seriously
threatened a few years ago through carelessness
and lack of foresight in breeding methods. Not
much was said about it , except in the poultry
papers and at the conventions of poultry raisers ,
but the menace was sufficient to arouse the more
progressive turkey raisers , with the result that
they mended their ways , put a ban on inbreed
ing and went In for the purebred or standard-
bred turkey , with the welcome outcome that rich ,
new , vigorous blood made its influence felt in
infusing strength and vigor in turkey flocks all
over the country.
In the case of growers who have had the bene
fit of enough experience to qualify them for the
work , turkey raising is , under favorable condi
tions , a highly profitable occupation. No other
kind of live stock wil return so large a profit to
the successful producer as will poultry , and tur-
I Coat of Mail in Garment
keys do not bring two or even three times the
eight cents that Uncle Sam's expert has set down
as a figure that will yield a profit Of course ,
the farmer who can sell his turkeys direct to
housewives can get from 25 cents per pound up
according to the state of the market and the
quality of the fowl but even the growers who
market through commission merchants , as most
of them do , ought to net from 16 to 20 cents per
pound , providing the sales agent is not allowed
to pocket more than his share of the sales price.
Of course , for the grower to net 20 or 24 cents a
pound , It is necessary to have the choice , specially -
ly fattened turkeys that bring top-notch prices
in the markets catering to the wealthy class in
the large cities.
Recent years have witnessed a change In the
methods of shipping turkeys to market Many
fowl are yet hauled to town , as in days of old , in
the farmer's wagon , but the largest share of the
turkeys for city markets are now shipped oy ex
press. Just at Thanksgiving time when turkeys
are coming to market in car-load lots many of
the birds make the journey by fast freight , but
under such conditions a man must be sent along
with each car load to feed the birds , so that In
the end It ft likely to be just as cheap to send
the birds.by express , the transit thus being ac
complished in a few hours and no feeding en
route being necessary. To carry out the present-
day policy of haste in transferring the turkeys
from the farms to the dinner tables of the folk
in towns and cities , we find special automobile
trucks waiting at the railroad stations to receive
the crated birds as they are unloaded from the
cars , and these motors rush the turkeys without
loss of time to the commission houses , hotels or
other destinations. A few years ago a car load
of live turkeys was a shipment of such unusual
size as to cause comment Nowdays such con
signments are handled by the hundreds at
Thanksgiving time , and a. car load of live tur
keys was , on one occasion , sent from New York
to San Francisco , the rental of the special car for
this journey amounting to $70. In Chicago there
are dealers who receive a dozen car loads of tur
keys a day at Thanksgiving time , and as many as
25,000 birds have been received in that city in.
one day at the height of the rush to stock larders
for Thanksgiving.
ated at one end and sewed , lapping
each other , on to a cloth framework
that exactly fits the interior of the'
garment.
No one can be found in Lander who
can give any clue to the Identity of
the owner of the strange suit or ar
mor. It Is thought by many that it Is
a relic of the days of the Overland
mail and was worn by some one who
feared attack from Indians and that it
came to Lander In the early days.
Others believe it belonged to some
one who had a mountain feud on his
hands and feared an ambush by the
enemy.
The Soldier's Wit.
A veteran of the Civil war , having
received from the government a new
cork leg In place of the one lost In
battle , perpetrated this witticism in
his return letter of thanks :
" 'Tls sweet to be re-membered for
what I have done. " Lippincott's.
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