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Show Page HILL TOP TIMES 18 November 22, 1974 lhoimis traditional comes to Thanksgiving The. turkey the American dinner table by a rather roundabout route. In fact, the Pilgrims would hardly recognize today's holiday bird. EARLY settlers feasted on tough, gamy, wild turkeys that roamed the American forests. The fat, tender turkeys that we now take for granted are actually descendants of those wild birds' Mexican cousins. Spanish explorers found a domesticated turkey strain in Mexico which they took back to Spain. Before long, these Mexican turkeys were favorite barnyard fowl for European and English farmers, becoming popular holiday fare on the continent and in the isles. turkeys often lead computer-programme- d rlpvplnned bv the U.S. lives, seldom Department of Agriculture seeing a barnyard or the Beltsville Agriculture Research Center in Maryland. chopping block. In contrast to their rangy, POULTRY researchers at d forefathers, center continue to exthe have lighter today's turkeys feathers, plumper bodies and periment with improving the more juicy white meat. turkey stock. To date, these geneticists The most popular variety at have produced such hybrids the supermarket is the e as the churk (half chicken, pounder known as the half small white turkey, turkey), the quick (quail- - Colonists then brought domestic turkeys back to the birds' native North American shores. SELECTIVE breeding since then has developed a turkey for any size feast, ranging from 5 pound birds for small family bronze-feathere- festivities to the gupersize 60 pound variety for the largest family reunion. Pampered, 5-- Belt-svill- table-boun- d 0 After the Thanksgiving traditional (the usually shiny coating) or of the decoration on certain turkey, stuffing and all the trimmings, there are always plenty of leftovers which should be stored immediately in the refrigerator. dishes. Lead is a toxic metal. If large quantities of it accumulate in the body, lead poisoning may result. This is why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned consumers that it is dangerous to store food in dishes used for meals. FDA says all dishes are safe for serving food. It's the a number storage of food-fo- r of hours-tha- t be risky. may dinner BUT HOW do you store these leftovers? If they're stashed away in bowls or cups or pitchers from your dinnerware set, you may be taking unnecessary risks. There have been cases of overnight storage where foods with an acid content have picked up lead from the glaze food in dinnerware-whethe- r It's inexpensive pottery, moderate priced earthenware or expensive china. Instead, store food in glass or plastic containers. Domestic and foreign factories test their own dinnerware, also, and man- - small percentage of all dishes present this risk ONLY A (pheasant-chicken- phail phasan and the ), (pheasant-quail- ). rare these Although varieties aren't in the grocers' freezers yet, science continues to modernize the traditional holiday bird. (AFPS) mum How does the lead get into by extended contact with the food? acidic foods. The metal might Toxic metals like lead and then seep into the food. cadmium are safe if dishes are glazed properly. A FEW common foods If they are made wrong, containing acid are fruit there is a possibility that the juices, cooked fruits, soft metal compound in the blaze drinks, cider, sauerkraut, or decoration may be released tomatoes, wines and vinegar. FDA does test dishes for the safety of the glaze and decoration and stops the sale of any dinnerware if find some samples to be unsafe. in storage. But to be safe, you should follow this rule: Never store the chicken), facturers of glazes test the glazes sold to amateur and professional potters. They also urge potters to use only the glazes labeled safe for dinnerware. BUT YOUR safety is your responsibility also. Protect yourself by storing what's left from your Thanksgiving dinner, as well as all your leftovers, in plastic or glass containers. An ounce of prevention can save pounds of wholesome food, and your good health, too. (AFPS) Turkeys are tense, fragile aeid stupid Turkeys are nervous all year round, not just during the holiday season. In fact, the big birds are thrown into a tizzy just by someone opening their cage door. And a really big shock-- a paper fluttering in the wind-ma- y cause them to dash hysterically to a corner of their pen and pile up in a fatal see what's falling and drown themselves. OTHERS CAUGHT in the rain may wander aimlessly and catch pneumonia simply because they can't find the poultry house door. Female turkeys never have learned to squat when faying eggs. - Unlike a chicken hen, they stand upright, letting the eggs drop an average of 10 inches. The breakage problem is tremendous. One tolerant man, who has raised turkeys for 40 years, claims they sometimes show intelligence. "I've seen them SOME QROWERS give get into single file, surround a flocks tranquilizers to to and it their snake, death," peck he said. ease their constant tension. Male turkeys, in particular, Turkey farmers use a great assortment of antibiotics and are subject to high blood vitamins to keep their delicate pressure, and medical have been charges in good health. A researchers gobbler suffering from mud studying them in hopes of fever, or blue comb, responds "shedding new light on heart disease in humans. nicely to terramycin. crush. BUT ENOUGH turkeys survive the real and imagined hazards of their brief lives-2- 4 weeks is the average- - to make a holiday dinner, the National Geographic Society says. The lot of a turkey grower is not a happy one. An experienced and exasperated farmer explained why: "Turkeys are beautiful to look at, fragile as an orchid, and stupid beyond belief." While drinking water, a young torn may become hypnotized by the movement of his own head and drink on until he drowns. Turkeys left in the rain have HAM- - saft-- that has been, THANKS! To all that will be, YES! Dag Hammarskjold Massachusetts, farmer ground oyster shells or limestone, and salt. Vitamins and minerals are added in precisely calculated proportions. THE DAYS are almost gone when a few turkeys strutted around a barnyard, scratching for their food along with the chickens. Then a prize torn would survive long beyond the allotted 24 weeks of modern birds. When he met his ultimate fate, his drumsticks usually were stringy and, as one farm wife recalled, "tough as bull's been known to look upward to To all A installed electric heating pads on the floor of his brooder house so the poults would not get cold feet. In Virginia, some turkeys are fed wild violet buds, a delicacy reported to give the meat finer grain and flavor. Most turkey growers, however, feed thier birds a mash that contains ground corn, pulverized oats, fish or meat meal, soybean meal, ears." Father, please count us among the one in ten - and let us speak for the other nine, our brothers, to give you thanks. Thanks for many, many things. These are some of them: For FRIENDS - true friends who stand by us in trouble and in sorrow, who are there when you need them, who cry with you and laugh with you and make life more precious, let us give thanks. - For FREEDOM the freedom in our country to assemble as we do right now, and to practice our religion without persecution, let us give thanks.... For the freedoms guaranteed by our Bill of Rights, the freedoms which we have to guarantee to every man, let us give thanks. For FUN, Lord - and funny people! For games, outdoors and on TV, for everything from Monopoly to bridge, and for all those who help us to alugh and enjoy life, let us give thanks. For FOOD ON THE TABLE - morning, noon and night, in all its variety and delight; for good cooks and good providers, let us give thanks. "Hill AFD Chaplains i i |