502 EGGS OF THE OSTRICH.. 



The common Ostrich is so well known that little need be said of its habits, its use to man- 

 kind, and the mode of hunting it, a very brief description being all that is necessary. 



This magnificent creature, the largest of all existing birds, inhabits the hot sandy deserts 

 of Africa, for which mode of life it is wouderf ally fitted. In height it measures from six to 

 eight feet, the males being larger than their mates, and of a blacker tint. The food of the 

 Ostrich consists mostly of the wild melons which are so beneficently scattered over the sandy 

 wastes, absorbing and retaining every drop of moisture condensed in the comparatively cool 

 temperature of night, or fallen in the brief but severe rain-storms which serve to give new vigor 

 to the scanty desert vegetation and to replenish the rare water springs. f 



Besides these melons, which the Ostrich, in common with the lion and other inhabitants 

 of the desert, eats as much for drink as for food, the bird feeds on grasses and hard grain, 

 which it is able to crush in its powerful gizzard, the action of which internal mill is aided by 

 stones and other hard substances, which the Ostrich picks xip and swallows just as ordinary 

 grain-eating birds swallow sand and small pebbles. In captivity the Ostrich will swallow 

 almost anything that comes in its way, such as brickbats, knives, old shoes, scraps of wood, 

 feathers, and tenpenny nails, in addition to the legitimate stones. ' It has even been seen to 

 swallow in succession a brood of ducklings ; but whether in that case the bird was impelled by 

 normal hunger, whether it was afflicted by a morbid appetite, or whether it was merely eating 

 the young birds for sheer mischief, are questions open for consideration. 



The Ostrich is a gregarious bird, associating in flocks, and being frequently found mixed 

 up with the vast herds of quaggas, zebras, giraffes, and antelopes which inhabit the same 

 desert plains. It is also polygamous, each male bird having from two to seven wives. The 

 nest of the Ostrich is a mere shallow hole scooped in the sand, in which are placed a large 

 number of eggs, all set upright, and with a number of supplementary eggs laid round the 

 margin. 



The eggs are hatched mostly by the heat of the sun ; but, contrary to the popular belief, 

 the parent birds are very watchful over their nest, and aid in hatching the eggs by sitting 

 upon them during the night. Both parents give their assistance in this task. The eggs which 

 are laid around the margin of the nest are not sat upon, and consequently are not hatched, so 

 that when the eggs within the nest are quite hard, and the young bird is nearly developed, 

 those around are quite fit for food. Their object is supposed to be to give nourishment to the 

 young birds before they are strong enough to follow their parents and forage for themselves. 



Each egg will weigh on the average about three pounds, being equal to two dozen ordinary 

 fowl's eggs. Yet one of them is not thought too much for a single man to eat at a meal, and 

 in one instance two men finished five in the course of an afternoon. The approved method of 

 dressing Ostrich eggs is to set the egg upright on the fire, break a round hole at the top, 

 squeeze a forked stick into the aperture, leaving the stem protruding, and then to twist the 

 stick rapidly between the hands so as to beat up the contents of the egg while it is being 

 cooked. Within each egg there are generally some little smooth bean-shaped stones, which 

 are composed of the same substance that forms the shell. 



These eggs are put to various useful purposes. Not only are they eaten, but the shell is 

 carefully preserved and chipped into spoons and ladles, or the entire shell employed as a 

 water vessel, the aperture at the top being stuffed with grass. The mode of filling these shells 

 from sandy pools is ingenious and simple. The business of procuring water is entrusted to 

 the women, each of whom is furnished with a hollow reed, a bunch of grass, and her egg- 

 shells. She makes a hole in the bed of the water-pool as deep as her arms will reach, ties the 

 bunch of grass at the end of the reed, pushes it to the bottom of the hole, and rams the wet 

 sand tightly round it. After waiting a little for the water to accumulate, she applies her 

 mouth to the upper end of the reed, drawing the water through the tuft of grass at the bottom 

 and so filtering it. Having filled her mouth with water, she puts another reed into the egg- 

 shell, and pours the water from her mouth into the shell. In this manner a whole village is 

 supplied with water, the shells being carefully buried to prevent evaporation. 



The Bushmen make terrible use of these water shells. When they have determined on a 

 raid, they send successive parties on the line, loaded with Ostrich egg-shells full of water, 



