SOME RESULTS UE OSTRICH INVESTIGATIOxNS. 



By Prof. James E. Duerden, M.Sc, Ph.D., A.R.C.S. 



{Evening Discourse, delivered in the School of Mines, Johannes- 

 burg, on Friday, 12th July, 1918, illuslraicd by lantern 

 slides.) 



(Plates 2-5, (///(/ four test fic/ures.) 



The graceful plumes of the ostrich have been employed for 

 decorative purposes from time immemorial, and frequent refer- 

 ences to the giant bird occur in Biblical and classical writings. 

 No personal adornment is so attractive as that of plumage, and 

 the ostrich plume holds sway from the native kraal to the thrones 

 of kings and queens, and, where secured under humane circum- 

 stances, renders a high service to the aesthetic nature of man. 



Ostrich plumes were first obtained from the hunting of the 

 wild bird, and so valuable are they that the bird would have 

 become extinct ere this had not its domestication been under- 

 taken. As it is, ostriches in South Africa have rapidly increased 

 under farming conditions, imtil in 1913 they were estimated at 

 near 1,000,000, a noteworthy instance of an animal saved from 

 extinction and increasing in numbers through man's agency. 

 Serious attention was first directed to the possibilities of ostrich 

 farming about 50 years ago. Under suitable management the 

 bird proved itself amenable to the restraints of farm life and 

 bred freely, and in a short time the ostrich industry became 

 one of the leading pursuits of parts of Cape Colony. It reached 

 its zenith in 1913, the year before the beginning of the war, 

 when feathers to the value of £3,000,000 were exported overseas, 

 mostly to Europe and the United States. An article of luxury, 

 ostrich plumes naturally suftered with the advent and continuance 

 of the war, th<^ugh there is every likelihood that the industry will 

 recover with the restoration of settled economic conditions. 



Although the ostrich is indigenous to Africa, it has been 

 established that the domesticated bird will thrive and reproduce 

 under diverse conditions, and the remunerative nature of ostrich 

 farming has led to its introduction into other parts of the world, 

 notably Arizona and California, in the United States, and also 

 Australia and New Zealand. The plumes produced in these 

 parts are, however, by no means the equal of those grown in 

 South Africa, and, as the bird is farmed only for the feathers 

 it provides, it is doubtful whether the industry can be made a 

 success beyond the confines of x\frica. As in so many other 

 highly specialised animal and vegetable products, jieculiarities of 

 soil, climate, and the general environment have much influence 

 upon ultimate success, and even among ostrich areas in South 

 Africa, great differences obtain in the degree of plumage perfec- 

 tion attained. 



