The Chickens. — The chickens require to be kept warm and
dry for the first few days after hatching, and they may be fed
with hard boiled eggs, crumbs of bread or pudding, and milk
or water, and allowed to scratch in the gravel in front of the
hen, which should be confined in a coop for the first three or
four weeks, after which they may be turned loose, when they
will thrive on anything the older ones eat. Many use them
for the table when they are but a few weeks old; but they are
much less valuable for this purpose till they have attained to
near or quite full maturity. The white legs are preferred by
some, from the whiteness and apparent delicacy of the meat;
but the yellow and dark-legged are good. The color of the
feathers does not seem to affect the quality of the flesh or their
character for laying. If we consider the principle of the
absorption and retention of heat, we should assume the white
coat to be the best, as it is coolest in summer when exposed to
the sun, and warmest in winter. Yet some of the white breeds
are delicate and do not bear rough usage or exposure.
The Turkey. — Unknown to the civilized world till the dis-
covery of this Continent, it was found here both in its wild and
domesticated state, and still occupies the whole range of the
Western Hemisphere, though the wild turkey disappears as the
country becomes settled. The wild is about the size of the
domesticated bird. The color of the male is generally of a
greenish brown, approaching to black, and of a rich, change-
able, metallic lustre. The hen is marked somewhat like the
270 POULTRY,
cock, but with duller hues. Domestication through successive
generations has changed the color of their plumage, and pro-
duced a variety of colors — black, buff, pure white, or speckled.
They give evidence to the comparative recency of their domes-
tication in the instinct which frequently impels the cock to
brood and take care of the young. Nothing is more common
than for the male bird to supply the place of the hen, when any
accident befalls her, and bring up the family of young chicks
with an equally instinctive regard for their helplessness and
safety. The flesh of this bird, both wild and tame, is exceed-
ingly delicate and palatable; and, though not possessing the
high game flavor of some of the smaller wild fowl, and especi-
ally of the aquatic, as the canvas-back duck, etc., it exceeds
them in its digestibility and healthfulness. The turkey is use-
ful principally for its flesh, as it seldom lays over a nest full of
eggs at one clutch, when they brood on these and bring up
their young. If full fed, and their first eggs are withdrawn
from them, they frequently lay a second time. We have had
them lay throughout the summer and into late autumn.
Page 188
Presented as published in 1883. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
The Chickens. — The chickens require to be kept warm and dry for the first few days after hatching, and they may be fed with hard boiled eggs, crumbs of bread or pudding, and milk or water, and allowed to scratch in the gravel in front of the hen, which should be confined in a coop for the first three or four weeks, after which they may be turned loose, when they will thrive on anything the older ones eat. Many use them for the table when they are but a few weeks old; but they are much less valuable for this purpose till they have attained to near or quite full maturity. The white legs are preferred by some, from the whiteness and apparent delicacy of the meat; but the yellow and dark-legged are good. The color of the feathers does not seem to affect the quality of the flesh or their character for laying. If we consider the principle of the absorption and retention of heat, we should assume the white coat to be the best, as it is coolest in summer when exposed to the sun, and warmest in winter. Yet some of the white breeds are delicate and do not bear rough usage or exposure.
The Turkey. — Unknown to the civilized world till the discovery of this Continent, it was found here both in its wild and domesticated state, and still occupies the whole range of the Western Hemisphere, though the wild turkey disappears as the country becomes settled. The wild is about the size of the domesticated bird. The color of the male is generally of a greenish brown, approaching to black, and of a rich, changeable, metallic lustre. The hen is marked somewhat like the
cock, but with duller hues. Domestication through successive generations has changed the color of their plumage, and produced a variety of colors — black, buff, pure white, or speckled. They give evidence to the comparative recency of their domestication in the instinct which frequently impels the cock to brood and take care of the young. Nothing is more common than for the male bird to supply the place of the hen, when any accident befalls her, and bring up the family of young chicks with an equally instinctive regard for their helplessness and safety. The flesh of this bird, both wild and tame, is exceedingly delicate and palatable; and, though not possessing the high game flavor of some of the smaller wild fowl, and especially of the aquatic, as the canvas-back duck, etc., it exceeds them in its digestibility and healthfulness. The turkey is useful principally for its flesh, as it seldom lays over a nest full of eggs at one clutch, when they brood on these and bring up their young. If full fed, and their first eggs are withdrawn from them, they frequently lay a second time. We have had them lay throughout the summer and into late autumn.