Evening Star Newspaper, November 25, 1923, Page 77

Part 5—8 Pages * MAGAZINE SECTION - The Sunday WASHINGTON, D. C, Shar. SUNDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 25. 1923. - Turkey, Pride of Holiday Feast, Is in Danger of Becoming Extinct By JAMES A. BUCHANAN. N the olden days, when Priscilla and John Alden were wont to walk through the forests of New England, Dan Cupid trailed along behind with his bow and ar- Tows, but he was not the only one that was armed, for the gallant John carried on his shoulder his trusty blunderbuss, a favorite weapon in those days of sane living and ro- mance. Not alone for the protection of the fair malden and himself did he carry it. He did not lug the shooting iron merely for the sake of Protecting Priscilla and himself from the lurking redskin. He had.another and more profitable idea. It was to snbot for the dinner of the Thanks- &lving period a plump turkey that perhaps they might encounter in their strolls. He knew that by shooting one of These bronzed birds he could give it o her for her family larder, and that fie would be invited to share in the toothsome morsel. They enjoyed many ® turkey, for historians have told us that Alden was a marksman of no mean skill, From the days of the romantic awaln is but a step that brings us face to face with a condition that is unything but pleasant. The great majority of those who feast upon the proud fowl at Thanksglving and Christmas time have not learned that unless some governmental action is taken the turkey will be a thing of the past, perhaps in fifteen or twenty years. During the past few Vears the number of turkeys raised in this country has been gradually get- ting smaller and smaller. Govern- ment officials and others connected with this branch of food supply have noted the danger to what may be called the national bird—that gastronomical bird, for of course the eagle Is the bird when it comes to a matter of emblems. * % ¥ % CAN you picture yourselt teliing your grandchild of what a turkey was and the wonderful sight it was when it was brought into the dining room on a big platter, all steaming hot, the skin a dark golden brown. 80 appetizing as to make you wonder if your turn would ever come, when father would pick out a nice piece of white meat from the breast or hand you a drumstick? Can you picture yourself having to take the little chap or yvoung miss to the Smith- sonian Institution and having to show what a turkey was? Can you picture some old-timer In the market, when he offered to sell you a nice plump chicken, speaking of the days when you used to buy a ten or twelve pound turkey and carry it proudly home?; Can you picture yourself telling the kiddies of the days to come how you used to have your favorite market- man save you the nice sweet pota- toes or the succulent yams, and how vou used to put in your order for celery and cranberries weeks before the arrlval of the day when all America sat down to tables spread for hollday feasts? Returning to the days of Priscilla and John, it will be remembered that New England was once the home of the turkeys, and many a President's table was graced with fowls that came from that region of the coun- try, but of late years the supply of fine turkeys In that section has great- 1y diminished. Old-timers have written about the days when Boston used to sport flocks of them on the great greenswards. These historians have praised the turkeys that were raised in Rhode Island. Then we find that later the great southwest took the honors in the ralsing of gobblers and Hens. 1t will be recalled by many that for & number of years the rival- ry between the different parts of the country was intense, and each sec- tion offered to send a bird to the ‘White House. * ok ok K Y EARS 20 one of the finest sports that a hunter could desire was to go to some spot, say, like that of Milan, Mo., and take a crowd out into the woods and shoot wild turkeys, not with a shotgun, but using a rifle, many of them smooth bore at that, and at the end of the day to come proudly back to the small hotel from which the morning's start had been made and with great gusto dump the individual bags on the floor. Many were the wagers that were won and lost by these huntsmen, and many a clty chap soon learned that the tall, qulet persons with butternut clothes was an antagonist in the mat- ter of shooting that had to be reckon- ed with all the time, lest he get the biggest bag during the day. The wild. turkey used to have and still has, whenever he can be located, a great habit of poaching. He may flirt with the hens of his own state of wildness, but if he happens to come across & flock of tame hens in his wanderings he takes great pride in humbling their lord and master and immediately hustles the captive hens away with him. In addition to this habit of the gobbler, his female com- panions have an ever-abiding desire to seek pastures far afleld, and it is no uncommon thing to find a flock of the birds semewhere from three to ten miles from the place they should De. They also have a great habit of get- ting into all sorts of other mischief, such as digging up freshly planted fields, digging up new gardens and doing a thousand and one things that should not be done. Many of their depredations have resulted in caus- ing hard feelings between land own- ers, and in some instances long and expensive lawsuits have been the result of the turkeys’ wanderings. Unmistakable evidence that the turkey is becoming more scarce is the fact that in the last few years the re- tall price has been at its peak. It must not be thought that the raiser of the birds gets all the “big money” for, according to figures secured from the Department of Agriculture, the “farm price” during the months of Octobef, November, December and January of 1921-22, respectively, were 25.7, 28.2,-32.6 and 30.7 a pound, and all of us remember what the prices to the householder were during those periods. It must not be imagined, however, that ail of the turkeys that were sold at the times mentioned had just come ¢ Number of Birds Has Been Growing Smaller in Past Quarter of a Century and Some Official Action Ma,;r Be Necessary to Preserve the Central Figure in the Annual Thanksgiving Celebration—Difficulty in Bringing Young Turkeys to Maturity Causes S.ome Farmers to Abandon Industry—-Flocks Are Also Susceptible to Diseape. from the farm, for a great many of the birds had been in cold storage for several months, some of them much longer than thadt, according to offi- cials. * Ok ¥ ¥ 0 less an authority than Andrew 8. Weiant, for a number of years sclentific assistant in animal hus- bandry, bureau of animal Industry of the Department of Agriculture, says: “Turkey raising, as ordinarfly en- gaged In, is a side line upon the gen- eral farm. Through the middle west, where most of the turkeys are raised, it 18 unusual to see a flock of more | in Texas, where more are produced than | than fifty on a farm, although in any other state, flocks of several Lundred are rather common. In sec- tions of the southwest and on the Pacific coast, a few persqns have en- gaged In turkey raising on a large, scale, producing a thousand or more every vear. turkeys enough raised on the Pacific coast to supply the local demand and this Is true also of the Atlantic coast states. The production in New Eng- land, once famous for its turkeys, is greatly reduced. “For several reasons, the number of turkeys in the United States is de- creasing. According to the census of 1900, there were on farms in the United States at that time 6,594,695 turkeys, while by 1910 the number nad decreased to 3,688,708, and by 1920 to 3,627,028. The principal cause of the decrease is that as the popula- tion of the country increases farming becomes more intensive and every year the area of range suitable for turkey raising is reduced. Many tur- key raisers have glven up the busi- ness principally because their tur- keys range thrcugh the grain flelds of adjacent farms and thus cause the 111 will of the owners. “Furthermore, the high mortality among them as ordinarily cared for on the farm and the outbreak of dis- ease, particularly of blackhead, among the turkeys In certain sections of the country, together with serious losses resulting from the presence of preda- tory animals in other sections, have tended greatly to discourage the tur- key industry. “For those who are favorably sit- vated for raising turkeys a more profitable sideline can hardly be found. Given plenty of range, tur- keys will readily find grasshoppers and other insects, green vegetables, the seeds of weeds and grasses, waste grain and acorns and nuts of various kinds. In this way the cost of raising them s very small and the profits are large. Grain and stock farms are par- ticularly well adapted for turkey rais- ing, and it is on such places that most of the turkeys are found. “Plenty ~¢ range Is essential to suc- cess in turkey ralsing. Little has ever been done In the way of raising turkeys in confinement, and when it has been tried the results have been discouraging. “All domestic varieties of turkeys are descended from wild turkeys originally found in North America from New England to Arizona and Florida, and still found in the more unsettled sections of thelr former range, particularly in the mountain- ous parts of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, and in the large swamps and hummocks of the gulf states. “Wild - turkeys differ somewhat in color, the extreme of which is shown by the Mexican wild turkey found in Arizona, New Mexico, western Texas and northern Mexico, and the common wild turkey found in the eastern part of the United States. ‘These two varieties differ in that the eastern turkey is of & brilliant cop- perish bronse, with the tips of the tail coverts and main tafl feathers yellowish-brown, while the Mexican turkey is of a darker color, the tronze being shaded with black and the tips of the tail coverts and main feathers white. *x x % NOTHER species of wild turkey, found in Central America and known as the Honduras turkey, Is ably why he left behind him a trail| of his death & few ! There are not, however, | Z o chief of the fire department of a smail Virginia town cafl o . 1 quite distinct from other North Amer- | fean species. This turkey is of beau- tiful plumage, the general color be- ing bright green, shaded with biue. red, bronze and black. It is some what smaller than the North Ameri- | can wild turkey and has never been domesticated to any great extent. “Six varieties of domestic turkeys are recognized by the American standard of perfection. Of these by far the most widely known is the tronze, after .which come the white | Holland, the bourbon red, the Nar- ragansett and the slate. “In color, the bronge turkey Is of a rich, brilllant, copperish bronze against a background of black and brown, and contrasted by the clear- white tips of the tall coverts and main tail feathers. When wild blood has peen introduced, however, the tips of the tail feathers are yellowish brown rather than white. The bour- bon red is of a deep yellowish red, with white wings and tail. Holland is pure white. The black tur- key is of a lustrous, greenish black throughout. The color of the Narra- gansett is steel gray against a back- ground of black. The slate turkey is of a slaty or ashy-blue color, more or less dotted with black.” In commenting upon the matter of breeding as it has been carried on with this famous fowl the expert say “By judicious breeding, turkeys have increased markedly in size since domestication. The wild turkeys of today averagé about 12 pounds for young toms and 8 pounds for vouns hens, while the standard weight for the bronze variety is 25 pounds for young toms and 16 pounds for youns hens. As a matter of fact, however, in scctions where little or no attempt has been made to breed turkeys up to a high standard, the weight of the or- dinary run of turkeys does not aver- age more than that of the wiid ones. “Owing to the fact that the bronze turkey is the heaviest, it is more pop- ular among turkey raisers than the other varleties. Since turkeys are sold by weight, the heaviest birds bring the greatest returns. When a large number of people are to be served, as In hotels, restaurants and boarding houses, the demand is for heavy turkeys. For family use the demand is for small or medium size birds. Unless they are to be market- ted locally among customers who de- mand small birds, it is more profit- ahle to raise the heaviest. ! “Regarding other characteristics it llu quite generally asserted that the 1, for huis Th.;inksgivmg : turkeys S, b The white | at Center Markeb £ And Pumpkns and ’Ififke»t go i,og’ctker. bronze is the hardiest:variety: that the bourbon red and white Holland are the most domestic and that the white Holland is the most prolific.” * ok k% T is really surprising how many people in and around Washington have taken up the matter of turkey raising for their own benefit and amusement and many of these raisers have become quite proficient in the art of raising these fowls. For those who are Interested In the subject it might be well to dwell for a moment on the subject of breeding, for unless it s carried forward there will be a gradual elimination of the turkay in this country. One of the most importan: steps toward success in turkey raising fs the proper selection of breeding stock. Unhatchable eggs, weak poults and small, scrubby turkeys are large- 1y the results of carelessness in the selection of the parent stock. In selecting turkeys for breeding pur- poses strength and vigor are the first points to be considered. To indicate this the body should be deep and wide, the back broad and tie breast round and full. The head should be of good size and of a clean, healthy appearance. A strong, well made frame is shown by thick, sturdy shanks and straight strong toes. Breeders of pure-bred turkeys scleat their breeding stock for vigor, size. shape, bone, early maturity and the color of the plumage. It should be the aim of every tur- Widow of Magnus Johnson’s Chief Supporter to Serve Senator Here BY MAYME OBER PEAK. INATOR MAGNUS JOHNSON, realizing that it will take more than time to learn the ropes at ‘Washington and to “break in” his good wife and the Johnson family, has appointed as his personal aide Mrs. Josephine Peyton Loftus of St. Paul. ‘With the title: of assistant secre- tary, Mrs. Loftus came to Washington' shortly after the senator’s election to open up the workshop in the big marble building on Capitol Hill and start the machinery running smooth- 1y before the office personnel shoved in from Minnesota with the senator aboard. The chief accompanied her for & brief look-see'at the Capital city be- ifore uprooting the family from the farm. During his visit, when he ran the usual Washington gamut—inter- views with the President, tho press and real estaters—he was fortified by the presence of his alde. This 18 prob- of exploded misapprehensions. and why, as & WashIngton observer puts it, “he was discovered to be addicted to collars, neckties, pressed pants and the other habiliments of the average man.” ¥ - Back of the appolntment of Mrs. Loftus is an interesting story —the keynote to the character of Senator Magnus Johnson. s Long before the farmer-laborite was discovered by the people he was dis- covered by George' S. Loftus of St. Paul, known as the pioneer equity builder of the northwest. Mr. Loftus was a martyr to co-operation. He led the fight of the reformers of the northwest, and during his incumbency a8 & mémber of the state legislature was & power to reckon with. He was & self-made men, the son of immigrant -parents too poor to give him schooling. Yet, “so informing is the hustling life of every homo- genepus community,” eulogised a col- league in- the hoiss on the occasion { years ago, “so en- | be shaped and polished. lightening is contact with men of different races with divergent points of view, so stimulating to the mind is the busy mart where races mingle, that he attained an address and ca- pacity, an ability to_ think, and = facility of expression equaled by very few men.” . One of Mr. Loftus’, outstanding achievements was the establishment of & farmers’ selling agency for thelr farm products, particularly grain. It was in this fleld that he first met Magnus Johnson, who was vice presi- dent of the Equity Co-operative Ex- change of St. Paul. He was much impressed with the practical farmer and his practical ideas for the farmer’s good. As he worked with him in putting on a co- operative basfs buying for the farm, as well as selling, he saw in him potentialities for leadership. Loftus cultivated Magnus Johnson's friendship, - convinced' that he had found a rough diamond that could Here was a man who had been a glassblower by trade. He knew ‘the labor question by the sweat of his brow. Now he was a farmer working trom sun-up to sun-down. It was time, he belipved, that the combina- tion was getting representation. At the time of the Loftus discovery, Mr. Johnson was justice of the peace of his little home town, Kimball. No decision of hils ever went to & higher court, which'may or may not be of any special significance. The first advance move Loftus sprang on Justice Johnson was to urge him to run for leutenant gov- ernor. Mr. Johnson thought this was too much optimism: ‘When the .time was riper, he ran for the state house of representatives and was elected. After seven years in this political dry- dock, he ran for governor—against Jacob Preus, and was defeated. Quite recently, he again fought his guber- natorial opponent and “defeated him (Continued on Fourth Page.) 5e IWDERWOOD B UNDERWOOP key grower to have a flock of pure- bred turkeys, even though they ars sold at market prices. The cost of raising pure breds is'mo more than that of mongrels and the profit is much greater. Inbreeding is harmful and it carried on very long will result in the loss of vigor and vitality. It is therefore advisable each year to obtain & new tom of unrelated blood, but of the same type. Nothing is to be gainel by crossing varieties,” a ~practice which soon reduces pure breds to mongrels. The turkey hen is a peculiar sort of a fowl In its habits. The matter of the nest is one marked characteristic, for, given free range, turkey hens usually secrete their mests in ob- scure places, such as patches of weeds, high grass or bushy thickets, and turkeys often wander far away from home for great distances be- fore they find places to suit them. To find these “stolen nests” (s they are usually termed) is often a long and tedious task, the usual method being to follow each turkey hen as she separates from the flock and starts toward her nest, :aking cure that she does not know that she Is observed. The turkey hen as a mother is cer- tainly a busy individual. She talks to the peults, as the little omes are called, in a language they under- stand, and with the approach of any danger she gives a low warning note that sends them scurrying in every direction for a weed or patca of grass where they can. lie flat on the ground safely hidden from view. ERE )ROBABLY one of the reasons vlhl! the ralsing of turkéys is not keep- ing pace with the demand for them is the fact that they are very hard to raise, for the turkey is subject to most of the diseases and ailments affecting fowls. Of these the most common diseases are blackhead, chicken pox (sore head) and roup. Limberneck and impaction of the crop are non-infectious ailments often found among turkeys. Of the para- sites, lice are the most injurious, especially among young turkeys, and unless some effective means has been taken to destroy them they can usually be found on every turkey in the flock. It is no uncommon thing for the owner of a flock to get up in the morning only to learn that one- half of that which he expected would bring him a tidy sum had died during the night. It is this, too, that has caused so many of those who set out to raise these fowls to abandon the venture, With all the handicaps that con- front the turkey raiser, it will be seen that It is not an easy venture and each year has seen a diminish- ing number of these fowls. Of course. we cannot say that the bird will be extinct in this or the generation to come, but it is not beyond the pale of possibility that unless the govern- ment steps in and takes some method of preserving the great fowl that has for 80 many years graced the Thanks giving and Christmas dinners, Mr and Mrs. Turksy will be seen in mu- seums only In the years to come. We must not forget that governmental help was necessary to preserve the buffalo. We had to call a hait on the killing of seals and had to put into museums and zoos other animals and fowls that were once very plen- tiful. Why may it not be necessary for the government to aid in saving the turkey? Earth Eaten as Food. A CCORDING to investigators in the service of the government, ome of the most unlovely characteristics of southern “crackers,” as they have been described in official reports, s the habit of chewing earth or clay. The practice of eating earth, how- ever, is not confined to any one race or region of the earth. In this coun- try several tribes of Indians are gliven to using earth as food. Vari- ous kinds of clay seem to be pre- ferred. The Pawnee Indians used a vellow- 1sh clay, which they shaped and dried tnto little balls that were slowly roasted at the open fire. When the clay as a delicacy. The Apaches used were removed, molstened with water |and eaten. These clay balls wers aspecially liked when served in con- nection with fish and seem to have promoted digestion. The Timmeh Indians of the Mac- kenzle river region used to resort to earth as food in times of famine. They dug out the clay found in the hollows along the banks of the river. In prosperous years they chewed the clay as a delicacy. The Ajaches used powdered clay to add to their meal before baking this in their rude loaves of bread. In South America the Indians in the uplands of Bolivia eat a light clay that is nearly white in color. They use this either raw or in the form of cakes of various shapes, and thess are sometimes sold in the marked places. They also prepare a sauce with the clay; this they eat with boiled potatoes. Among the negroes of the Guinem coast as well as among those in West Africa the eating of clay s very com- mon. The natives of the Sudan dig their favorite clay from between lay- ers of sandstone in the banks of the rivers. The natives of Java prepare little cakes of clay containing ochre. These are sold in the public marke! The “hairy Ainus” the aborigines of northern Japan, mix clay with their rice and with the leaves of vari- ous plants that they use as food. In Persia various kinds of clay are considered deliclous luxuries among certain classes, while in the foothills of the Himalayas the natives are con- stantly chewing a plece of greenlsh clay, which they believe has the prop- erty of protecting them against dis- ease, In Finland, as well ag in certain parts of Sweden, powdered clay is mixed with the flour used for making bread. This practice is similar to that of the Apaches, and may really represent a relic of some early cere- monisl or superstitious observance. In the Ural mountains the natives mix gypsum (plaster of parls) with their dough. In Syria, in Sardinia and in Treviso (the Tarvisium of the anclents, near Venice) cakes of clay are sold in the markets with other foodstufts. In parts of South America the whites imitate the natives in using clay as an article of diet, but there they cultivate the excuse that earth eating leads to the cultivation of « fine complexion. Electric ‘Rain Alarm. JFPALLING rain s likely at any time to drive Into a room and damage the floor, wallpaper and furnishings. One manufacturer has devised an electric rain alarm which will give warning as rain in any quantity falls into a room. The device consists of & box and a battery, a buszzer, a small electric light and a switchboard ar- rangement that holds what the maker calls & “ralno-dis The box is put on the window sfll at night when the window is left open for ventilating purposes. The falling rain drops ‘on the diso, switches on the current and throws both light and buzzer into cir- cuit. The buzzer awakes the eleeper and the light shows which window needs attention. —_—— Unique Band Saw. HERE 18 in use an ingenlous sort of band saw for coarse work, such as felling trees and sawing stove wood. The saw, instead of being @& continuous ribbon-like blade, is made up of links, like those of the driving chain of a bicycle. On their outer side they have teeth of extremely hard steel. The endless chaln is sup- portad on four ball-bearing sprocket wheels mounted in 2 light metal trame. A five-horsepower benzine mo tor drives it.