Emu and Ostrich Farming. 53 



engaged in some work near the glass range. They went into the 

 potting shed to eat their dinner, leaving the door open. They sat 

 on the floor, with their backs against the wall, when presently a 

 Rhea entered the shed and, crushing herself in between them, 

 laid an egg on the floor. The men had no fire handy, or probably 

 I would nob have seen that eg-g, as it arrived at a hungry and 

 tempting moment. The laying season of Rheas is from June to 

 August here. I do not mention these things as trivial re- 

 miniscences only, but rather to bring home to you the contrast 

 between these wild and wary birds kept in confinement here 

 familiar with man and their roaming at large on the Pampas of 

 South America. They would not probably find, or take advantage 

 of, tartan shawls, Chinese slippers, or even potting sheds there, 

 and I am certain they would give a wide berth to two " gauchos '' 

 sitting eating their dinner of dried meat, each with a "bolas" or 

 lasso lying handy by their side. I have been told by friends who 

 have lived in South America that a dainty meal is made by cutting 

 off the top of an egg, puttmg in herbs and spices, and roasting it 

 on a fire. I once gave the cook one and told her to try it in an 

 omelette. The result would have been fairly good had she not 

 used the whole egg ; it tasted of little else. I never felt valiant 

 enough to tackle a plain boiled one for breakfast, but my shepherd 

 once tried a fried one, and he told me he got quite a " fricht " 

 when the whole bottom of the pan was filled with egg. The 

 maternal duties of Emus cease so soon as the female finishes 

 laying, and I always shut her off from the nest when the male 

 began to incubate, as she only disturbed him by laying more eggs 

 in the nest than were wanted. The male sits from 58 to G2 days, 

 and during all that time he never touched food or water, though 

 he always had a supjaly of both beside him. Besides the incubating 

 he does all the rearing, and it is an interesting sight to see the 

 huge bird striding along with the young all about his feet, and 

 never treading on one. 



The young are beautiful creatures when in life, much more 

 so than the stuffed specimen I now shew you. The colours are 

 very much faded. I fed the young on hard-boiled eg-g for the 

 first few days, mixed with bread and biscuit crumb, then oatmeal, 

 lettuce, and greens ; but they begin very soon to graze like their 

 parents, so their keep is not a very expensive affair. The old 

 ones graze like geese, but I always gave them in addition a feed 



