14 Presidential Address : 



small in themselves, but very important commercially, that 

 the Ostrich breeder has to work. 



At the present time much attention is being given to the 

 breeding of superior Ostriches, as practically all Ostrich 

 farmers are also Ostrich breeders. High prices, often 

 amounting to several hundred pounds, are given for the best 

 birds to be used for breeding purposes. But the principles 

 underlying these selections are not always clearly understood. 

 The general aim and object seems to be to secure all the best 

 feather characteristics combined in a single bird, and pairs of 

 birds most nearly possessing these are mated in the expectation 

 of getting the desired combination in the progeny. It must 

 be confessed there are yet many disappointments among 

 breeders. Occasionally it will be found that the offspring 

 from two superior birds produce quite inferior feathers, and 

 in other cases only a small proportion of the chicks reared 

 in one season turn out really first-class birds. Even the 

 best breeders can scarcely guarantee that the chicks from 

 superior parents will themselves be superior. Anxious to 

 retain their reputation, some farmers will not dispose of their 

 chicks, the risk of fiiilures among them being too great. They 

 ])refer to keep them until the juvenal, or even adult, feathers 

 are formed, when their character is clearly proved, and, if 

 superior, they then command good prices. 



There is no question that the average standard of the 

 Ostrich as a feather-producing animal is being rapidly raised 

 as a result of the attention now given to breeding. A greater 

 number of superior feathers are now being produced than at 

 any previous time. But the intelligent farmer would like to 

 be assured that the actual feather capability of the bird can 

 also be increased — that is, that the domesticated Ostrich can 

 be made to produce a better feather than hitherto. 



At the present stage of Ostrich breeding, two very clearly 

 defined problems call for solution : — (1) To gain the 

 assurance that the progeny will be the equal of the parents, 

 that is, that the parents will breed true ; (2) to improve, if 

 possible, the progeny beyond the standard of their parents. 

 The utmost that can yet be done is to outline some of the 



