Emit and OsiTRTCTi Faumixg. 47 



a white mouse to snakes, monkeys, kang-aroos. tiger cats, vultures, 

 eag-les. kc, up to Eunis and Rheas. In that year, 1875. the 

 idea .struck me that I would try my hand with Jthej two latter 

 birds. The Emu, as you probably all know, is a 'native of 

 Australia, where on its vast plains they might have been seen in 

 large flocks, when our colonists first settled there, but are now 

 becoming- very scarce in the more inhabited parts of the country, 

 owing to the ruthless way they have been hunted down by men 

 and dogs, and are now only to be found, in diminished numbers, 

 at a .safe distance from the settlements. Owing to their growing 

 scarcity Emus are rather an expensive stock to lay in. This did 

 not deter me from purchasing a pair, as I hoped, if successful, to 

 recoup myself the initial outlay of £20, which was the fig-ure 

 charged by Jamrach, of Ratcliffe Highway, London, the famous 

 dealer in wild animals. When they arrived home the children 

 christened them " Tommy " and " Jenny," and by these names they 

 will be distinguished in the course of my narrative. In the above 

 hope I was not disappointed, as you will understand when I tell 

 you that my experiment did succeed, and that I sold my young- 

 birds, thirty-one in number, at from £8 to £10 per pair, without 

 guaranteeing the sexes, and that when I sold off my birds in 1885 

 I received £16 for the original pair, or only £4 less than I paid 

 for them, and after gaining for ten years the profit from the sale 

 of young birds and extra eggs. The eggs of both Emus and 

 Rheas are worth 5s each, and as between both species they laid 

 somewhere about 240 in all, you must allow that these birds are 

 fairly profitable — certainly more profitable than sheep— and 

 perhaps it might be advisable for farmers in these times of de- 

 pression to introduce on their farms this novel Australian and 

 South American stock. Let me here remark, however, as a warn- 

 ing to farmers or even to others, that to procure a breeding pair is 

 a risky and difficult matter. The distinction of sex in the Emu 

 can only be determined by an expert, the plumage of either sex 

 being of the same colour in the adult state. There is a decided 

 difference of colour when the young are in the " down," some 

 having the stripes much darker than others, and at this stage 

 colour may mark the sexes, but so soon as feathers are put on this 

 distinction is lost. The sex of the Rhea is easily distinguished, 

 even at a distance, the male being much darker than the female. 

 It is only after long and minute observation that an amateur can 



