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Vol. XXXVI                           FEBRUARY, 1932                     
            No. 2 
 
The Wild Turkey---Today 
and Tomorrow 
 
I BELIEVE that every reader of THE 
GAME BREEDER is interested in the 
propagation of game birds, yet it is 
no doubt true that only a small per- 
centage are breeders of the stately wild 
turkey-a sad reflection upon American 
industry when we consider the past 
record of this, our largest and most 
highly respected game bird. 
The subject of the wild turkey has 
been pretty thoroughly covered through 
this magazine, but I am prompted to 
carry it still farther by request of many 
readers since the last article appeared. 
Then too, we all learn as time goes on, 
and I strongly desire to pass on all new- 
ly-gained Information that may be help- 
ful to my readers. Looking over my 
correspondence covering the last five 
weeks, I have before me an astonishing 
number of letters, both from men of 
long experience in hunting the wild 
turkey and from those now trying to 
re-establish the bird in covers suitable 
for its multiplication. The questions 
submitted to me prove beyond all doubt 
that the interest In this bird Is today 
greater than it has been since the days 
when game breeding was first consid- 
ered in the field of American conserva- 
tion. 
The outlook for the wild turkey in 
the future is certainly encouraging. My 
prediction Is that we shall soon see 
plantings made in nearly ever state 
where the birds once were plentiful; at 
least, if the very enthusiastic letters 
which I have lately received mean any- 
thing, we shall not be disappointed. 
On the other hand we have also re- 
ceived some data of Interest where fail- 
ures have been complete; and the ques- 
tion is asked, "What is the remedy-if 
there is a remedy?" I quote in part a 
note lately received from one deeply in- 
terested  but completely   discouraged 
with his initial venture. 
"We bought baby turkeys from a re- 
liable breeder who claimed to have 
genuine wild stock, but we suspected 
from the first that they were only 
 
By WILLET RANDALL 
PART I 
scrubs. We raised 21 out of the 30 re- 
ceived, turned them loose on the pre- 
serve grounds, and they made their way 
next day to a farm house and have 
been roosting with the chickens ever 
since." 
The answer is that tame turkeys al- 
ways do this very thing, and there isn't 
any doubt but that the stock this man 
purchased was of that blood. This is 
just one more proof of the inferiority of 
the trash so many are offering as "wild 
turkeys." It is the one thing to kill 
the industry; and the "remedy" is to 
educate the breeder or preserve owner 
to first learn what a wild turkey is be- 
fore he spends his money. 
I HAVE received, within the last few 
weeks, birds from several different 
states for inspection, as well as some 
purchased, but with one exception every 
bird that has come to us is trash of the 
ripest kind which shows very little trace 
of wild blood. Things of this nature 
will continue until the standard has 
been approved, and we hope that, before 
very long, the readers of this magazine 
will have before them a guide which 
will enable them to tell just what a 
pure wild turkey looks like. The sooner 
we game breeders learn that wild tur- 
keys don't have white wings, jet black 
legs, big  red  heads and mammoth 
bodies, the sooner we will begin to get 
somewhere. 
I have had a very good opportunity 
to compare birds from various state 
game farms, preserves, and from pri- 
vate owners who have sent feathers and 
parts of skins for classification; this 
work is still being carried on at Ark 
Farms and Zoo, and we have appealed 
to every hunter and breeder who has 
the interest of these birds at heart to 
send us his collections of either birds, 
skins or feathers. 
 
We have found that variations are 
even much greater than we had hereto- 
fore supposed, which proves that, even 
in a perfectly wild state, such variations 
do occur. Then comes the question 
(which a standard alone can prove), 
"What is the right type?-weight?- 
color? How are we several breeders 
going to make this decision? How shall 
we buy, sell or select for future propa- 
gation the birds required for our pur- 
pose if we, ourselves, don't know?" If 
any of you can figure this out, I shall 
be grateful for the answer. 
I have said many times before and 
repeat it here without fear of contra- 
diction, that true wild turkeys are rare 
and extremely hard to get for breeding 
purposes. Some have expressed surprise 
that this is so, believing that all that 
was necessary was the cash with which 
to make the purchase. I only wish 
that this were true, but I assure you 
that you will find it difficult to buy stock 
which does not show positive proof of 
domestic blood. I do not say that there 
are no good wild turkeys being bred-I 
believe there are a very few, but I con- 
fess I am not able to purchase any. My 
offer of fifty dollars each for purebred 
toms or hens still holds good, so if any 
of you know at this moment where such 
purebred wild turkeys can be had, I 
will appreciate the knowledge. I have 
scoured every corner of the country, 
paid many dollars in express, coming 
and going (mostly going) in an attempt 
to locate good birds. 
A newspaper clipping sent me only 
yesterday told of a project under way 
whereby the state of South Carolina was 
contemplating the purchase of wild tur- 
keys to stock their covers down there. 
I immediately wrote the Game Commis- 
sioner that his state harbored the very 
purest wild turkeys, to our knowledge, 
of any in the whole U.S.A., and that to 
turn down a bunch of worthless half- 
bloods among these few remaining origi- 
nal birds, would be a catastrophe-that 
once the damage was done it could 
(Continued on page 50) 
 
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