Formerly abundant thruout eastern United States, the WILD TURKEY has been exterminated in all save a few mountain fastnesses, where pursuit has educated them to a condition of wariness which may enable a few to survive. They are polygamous, each male having several wives who steal away from his observation with great secrecy when they want to nest, for well they know his lack of paternal affection will lead him to destroy nest or young. Why this murderous instinct should exist among a species battling all other malignant natural forces to survive, is a mystery which does not tend to a belief in the mercy of a supreme force. The extraordinary skill of females in hiding their nests outwits this lethal paternalism.
In some localities raising Turkeys for market is a thriving industry; in others, they are subject to so many ills that they are not profitable. So universal is our epicurean fondness for Turkeys that they might be considered the national bird! Unlucky indeed is the family who has no Turkey enthroned on the Thanksgiving Table.