| Show THE YANKEE facts about the origin of the christmas turkey our barnyard gobbler Is hot the direct descendant of american stock lint a imported from mexico among the luxuries belonging to the high conditions of civilization exhibited by the mexican nation at the time of the spanish conquest was the possession by montezuma of one of the most extensive zoological gardens on record says the washington star it embraced nearly all of the animals of that country with others brought at great cost from distances it is stated by that turkeys called by the spanish adventurers a kind of peacock were furnished in largo numbers as food to the beasts of prey in alie emperors menagerie at that time the bird had been domesticated and reared in mexico for hundreds of years it was carried by the spaniards to the west indies whence it was taken to europe early in the sixteenth century before long it became in europe highly appreciated for its flavor being known to be of foreign origin a report gained g ground that the fowl had been obtained from turkey that being a region little known in western europe in this way it obtained the name by which it has since been designated people coming to the united states from europe brought this mexican fowl to the united states and the progeny of the stock thus imported and fetched back to the continent whence it was originally derived furnishes yankee tables today to day in fact the contemporary turkey of the barnyard did not belong here originally it is not derived from the wild turkey of the united states which is quite species with dark meat on the breast and other differences plainly on the other hand the wild mexican turkey has white meat on the breast and resembles our tame turkey in all other points there are two species of wild turkey in north america one is confined to the eastern and southern parts of the united states while the other is native to the rocky mountains parts of texas new mexico colorado arizona and extends along eastern mexico southward zoologists were a long time finding this out being puzzled meanwhile to account for the marked difference in color and habits between the wild and domestic birds of the country that i dark mcatee fowl should acquire white meat through domestication would seem indeed surprising in its wild state the mexican turkey derives nourishment from plants and insects scratching with its feet for food it is very shy the birds live in families like wild geese keeping sentinels on the watch when the flock is feeding they are so heavy that they are not fond of taking flight but the swiftest doff cannot overtake abera in running the female lays from three to twelve red spotted eggs and hatches them out in thirty days in yucatan and northern guatemala this bird is replaced by a third species less in size but more striking in appearance pe arance the tail having spots somewhat like the eyes in the tail of a peacock |
