ORNAMENTAL selected for ornamental purposes are of two kinds :—(1) those manifesting beauty and brilliancy of colour ; and (2) those in which the barbules are long and loose, giving beauty of form. Among the first class, are included the feathers, and even the entire skins, of a vast number of birds, principally natives of the tropics, which are not, however, systematically reared for the purpose, but rather hunted in a wild state. The most important commercially are, perhaps, the marabouts (Leptoptilos argala, and L. javanica) of the E. Indies, and the various species of humming-birds, and birds of paradise. The second class embraces the ostrich and its allies, and deserves fuller description, as ostrich-farming is now an established industry. The present distribution of the ostrich (Struthio camelus) is much more restricted than formerly ; yet, on the African continent, it is found from S. Algeria to the interior of the Cape Colony, wherever open country occurs. The differences observed between individuals from far distant places has given rise to opinions that more than one species existed in Africa, but these have been disproved. Once widely known iu Asia, the bird is now to be met with only in Syria, in the Hauran, whence the skins are taken to Damascus, for despatch to Marseilles. The plumes of wild ostriches are said to differ in quality, according to the locality whence they are obtained ; those from well-watered districts are long and heavy, but stiff and ungraceful, from the thickness of the shafts ; those obtained in the Kalahari, and adjoining districts, are shorter and lighter, and possess finer shafts, which allow the vanes to droop in a graceful curve.
The countries of N. Africa still continue to furnish considerable supplies of ostrich feathers. The value of the plumes annually exported from Egypt is 150,000-250,000/. These are not pro duced in Egypt, but come from Kordofan, Gezire, Darfour, Baghirmi, Wadai, and Somali-land, and a few from Arabia. They are brought on camels to the Nile, and come in barges up the river to Cairo, the great market for this merchandise. The African feathers which reach Egypt are classed in two divisions—" Sennaar," and " Kordofan." The former are thick, dry, and brilliant, and are often mixed with those from Wadai. They are brought in by desert caravans to Kartoum, and there undergo considerable picking and sorting, which operations are repeated at several stages before arriving at Cairo; and this fraudulent packing is so skilfully done as to deceive inexperienced buyers. These feathers constitute about 1 of the total exported from Egypt ; about 1 of them are
derived from domesticated birds, which are farmed by the Arabs, and yield a plucking every 6 months. The Kordofan feathers resemble the graceful Barbary plumes in colour and quality. They are obtained entirely from wild birds shot in the desert, and are often brought by caravan direct to Cairo. The Arabian feathers, from the Tdmdni country, on the S. borders of Arabia, were divided into three classes—" Aleppo," the most perfect in grace, colour, and richness ; " Hedjiaz," or "false Aleppo"; and "Yemen," distinguished by beautiful whiteness, and poverty of plumage. The two first are now almost unknown, and the last are so inferior as to be scarcely saleable. A few parcels of mixed Arabian feathers are shipped from Aden. The shipments from Egypt are by steamer from Alexandria direct to Marseilles, or by land. The exports of this article from Tripoli, in 1879, were valued at 235,0001. ; and from Bengazi, 25,0001. The feathers are brought to this port from Timbuctoo, Houssa, Bornou, and Wadai, the first being considered the finest. They are entirely from'wild birds, and are brought usually in bulk by traders to Tripoli, and there sorted and packed for shipment to France, England, and Germany. From Algeria, wild ostriches have been exterminated by French sportsmen, but the colonists are commencing to farm them on a small scale. Numbers of feathers are also brought by caravan from the confines of the Sahara, via Tindoof, Teezoon, Tarodant, and Wadnor to Mogador, where they are sorted, packed, and shipped ; the shipments, in 1878, were 34 cwt.: 28 cases, value 15,0001., were for Great Britain ; and 8 cases, value 45001., went to France. The value of the feathers exported annually from Senegal is about 25001. ; they generally go to Bordeaux. They are brought from the Soudan, and the countries of the Senegal River, where the birds are both hunted and domesticated by the natives. The values of the exports from all Egyptian ports, in 1879, were :—To France, 56,5001. ; Great Britain, 40,5001. ; Italy, 22501. ; Austria, 20001.