OSTRICH, Struthio camelus, L.
Thar-ud-jamal, . ARAB. Shutr-murgb, . . PERS. Strudsfugl, . . . DAN. Abestruz, . . . Pour. Struisvogel, . . . DUT. Strouss, . . . . Rue. Autruche, . . . . Fs. Avestruz, . . . . SP. Strauss, . . . . GEE. Struts, . . . . SW.
Struzzo IT.
This is the only species of the genus Struthio. It inhabits Central and Southern Africa. It runs with great speed, aided by its wings, which are not sufficiently developed for flight. The length between each stride, when at full speed, is not unfrequently from 12 to 14 feet, moving with a velocity that puts the swiftness of the horse to the trial. They feed on the sprouts of the Acacia mimosa, and on the pulp of the Naras. When hunted by horsemen, the latter surround the troop of ostriches and drive them from one to another, gradually narrowing their circle. In the height of the hot weather, the ostrich makes but little effort, and a single horseman suffices to catch them. The ostrich imitates the lapwing and oyster - catcher in its stratagems to mislead those who approach its nest or its young. It hatches its own eggs, but reserves a few for tho food of its young. Its usual cry is a short roar, but when at bay it hisam like a gander. Their long wing-feathers are sold at from to £12 the lb.—from 70 to 90 feathers go to the lb. ; the thinner the quill, and the longer and more wavy the barbs, the more it is prized.
Ostrich farming has been successfully introduced at the Cape of Good Hope, in S. America, and on the Pacific side of the United Staten, from species of Rhea. Bulbar' mentioned that the feathers of the finest quality are no doubt obtained from living birds. Captain Lyons, who travelled through the northern latitudes of Africa in the early part of the present century, also mentioned that at Sockna and its environs they keep ostriches in their yards and enclosures, and collect their feathers three times in two years. From the ostrich skins which I have seen exposed for sale, I fancy that the best plumes we see in Europe are obtained from those thus kept enclosed; for those obtained from wild birds have theirs so broken and soiled, that there are often not a dozen good ones found.' In 1856, it appears to have been suggested by the French that the ostrich might be domesticated in Algeria. According to Marmot, the native tribes of the province of Darn, in Numidia, raised ostriches for their feathers. They
were put to graze in troops, so as to secure their feathers in the best possible condition.
M. J. Verran, the naturalist, made a large profit from the feathers derived from the ostriches ho raised in his menagerie at Cape Town; and he managed to pluck his birds, without, inconvenience, regularly twice a year. And the systematic breed ing and rearing of ostriches in South Africa has taken deep and extensive root. In 1860, a pair of ostriches, six months old, could be purchased for 10s. ; now, for one bird alone, a few days after hatching, £5 will be given, and for those of three or four months old, £8 to £10; at 12 to 18 months, £12, 10s. to £16 ; from 2 to 4 years, £20 to £30 ; a full-grown pair, from £60 to £300, and even £1000. In 1860, the quantity of ostrich plumes exported was 2297 lbs., valued at £19,201; in 1873 it had grown to 31,5811bs., worth £159,677. An ostrich in full development and plumage, only, however,., yields every eight months lb. of feathers.
The breeding birds are occasionally supplied with chopped meat. The cock birds are viciously pugnacious. They kick forward, and the claw on the end of the bigger toe rips like a knife. The body of the male is jet black, with beautiful white feathers drooping from its wings and tail, and long black feathers slightly overhang them.
They lay from 6 to 14 eggs, and are hatched in 42 days. A full-grown male ostrich, kept pt for plucking, yields annually about 40 long white and variegated feathers from the wings, called primes and seconds, equal to about 8 ounces in weight. These grow in two rows on each wing. Next in value are the tail-feathers and the long and short black ones. Tho hen has several long white and variegated feathers, and long and short drab ones, but the former are not of equal value to those of the cock bird. A pair of full-grown ostriches, from 4 years old and upwards, will bring in about £25 per annum by plucking them every 8 mouths, the average of the male's plucking being £10, and that of the female's £7, 10s. Young birds are plucked for the first time when 10 or 12 months old, but arc only worth 7e. 6d. to 15a. the lb.
Their second plucking is when about 20 months old. Cutting obtains better feathers than pluck ing.—Hartwiy.