THE OSTRICH FEATHER INDUSTRY IN SOUTH 



AFRICA. 



By RussEL William Thornton. 



Historical. — The Ostrich is mentioned, and one may even say 

 described, in the Bible, so that there is Httle doubt that a great 

 deal was known about this bird for many centuries before 

 domestication took place in South Africa. Ancient Egyptian 

 inscriptions and accounts by Greeks and Romans show the anti- 

 quity of this species. In the reply of the Lord to Job, the 

 habits of the Ostrich are as clearly described as we might 

 describe them to-day. 



Distribution. — The geographical range of the Ostrich was 

 very extensive, and is not nearly as extensive to-day as it was. 

 At the present time the Ostrich is found distributed over the 

 greater part of the African Continent, but has, to a great extent, 

 become extinct in Asia, though there is little doubt, as is shown 

 by fossil remains, that at one time the Ostrich extended as far 

 as the North-East of India. 



Variety. — Although the Ostriches through the Continent of 

 Africa may be classed as one species, they may be split up into 

 four varieties. First, the North African {Stntthis camclus). 

 These are found all along the northern part of the continent, 

 ranging eastwards to Egypt and Abyssinia, and south to the 

 Southern Soudan, and it was a subdivision of this variety which 

 formed the shipment introduced into South Africa in 1912. The 

 characteristics of the North African Ostrich are: the bird is very 

 long in the legs, the colour of the skin in the hen is a creamy 

 or very light salmon colour, and the cock, when in full sexual 

 vigour, is a bright scarlet. The top of the head in both sexes 

 has a bare, horny patch quite devoid of hair or feathers. The 

 shell of the ^gg is quite smooth — i.e., quite free from pittings, 

 as is the case with the egg of the South African variety. Second, 

 the East African Ostrich (Stnithis inassaicus), found princi- 

 pally in Massai Land. The characteristics of this variety are 

 not well defined, and in many ways it appears intermediate 

 between the North African and the South African. It has 

 the same bare patch on the head as the Northern bird. Third, 

 the Somali Ostrich (Stntthis molyhdophanis), so called from 

 the colour of its plumage. It is found principally in Somali- 

 land, and is the smallest of the four varieties. The skin coloura- 

 tion is a dull bluish-grey or leaden colour. Fourth, the South 

 African Ostrich {Stntthis aitstralis). The skin colovu'ation of 

 this bird is a dark bluish-grey. The bare patch on the head is 

 absent, and the shell of the egg is pitted and thicker than that 

 of the Northern bird. Some verv interesting cross-breeding 

 experiments have recently been carried out between the imported 

 North African and South African Ostrich. The external ap- 

 pearance of the cross-bred chicks is more like the North African 

 parent stock. In the case where the North African hen was 

 mated with the South African cock, a peculiar feature was noted, 



