^5- SOME Ki:sri.TS of ostrich 1X\ ESTIGATIONS. 



Also, practically only one feather ideal exists, tianiely, the largest 

 feather, combining all the many desirable feattires at their maxi- 

 mum. The technical " points " relate to details concerning lengths 

 width, strength, shapeliness, density, and lustre, in all of which 

 the plumes vary greatly. None of the original South African 

 strains possessed the highest expression of these in comibnation, 

 and the object throughout has been to gather into one all the 

 best features available. As yet no breeder has succeeded in doing 

 this, though many are nearing the desired end. The ostrich 

 farmer clearly appreciates the distinctness of the various 

 characters of the plume, though in his selection for mating 

 proceeds mainly on the assumption of a blending inheritance, 

 and in practice the method is succeeding, even though progress is 

 slow, and much variety is encountered in the progeny. When 

 the ideal type of plume has been built up, it is understood that it 

 must be "fixed" by a measure of in-breeding; and at present 

 widely divergent crosses are rarely made. 



It is generally conceded that, notwithstanding all the selection 

 which has taken place, no advance has been made on the best of 

 the feather points originally scattered among the foundation 

 .stocks, except such as can be ascribed to imj^roved nutrition and 

 other conditions dependent upon domestication. All that the farmer 

 has done is to combine in the one plume the best of the features 

 originally distributed among the many wild strains ; but it has not 

 been found possible to change any of the characteristics beyond 

 what nature provided. Taking the features separately, the ostrich 

 plume affords a noteworthy instance of the impossibility of 

 continued improvement by means of continued selective breeding. 

 All that the process has achieved is to segregate the best of the 

 features most desired ; moreover, in connection with the points 

 of the feather, no hint of auy sport or mutation ever occurs. 



When comparing closely the many commercial varieties of 

 ostrich plumes, each representing a separate type to the specialist, 

 and having a distinct value, the question arises as to how far the 

 many differences in size, density, shape, and lustre should be 

 considered as fluctuating variations, or how far they are elemen- 

 tary characters. Farming experience has fully proved that selec- 

 tive breeding within a type will not change any of the minutiae 

 of the type. If a farmer requires any ])articular feature added 

 to his strain, he must procure it from birds whose plumage 

 displays it : no degree of breeding will produce it otherwise. The 

 variations distinguishing the types are undoubtedly germinal, not 

 environmental, and should therefore be regarded as representing 

 definite elementary characters. Yet how many of these elemen- 

 tary characters must be represented in even a single ostrich 

 ])lume ! No doubt the same multiplicity of small characters 

 appeals to the specialist in an intensive study of any domesticated 

 stock. Experimental investigations are usually undertaken on 

 one or on only a few of the pronounced characters ; but when all 

 the many details have to be considered which are of the greatest 



