Emu and Ostrich Farming. 59 



fontinued to increase in severity for some rime, till the thermo- 

 meter reached 13°, and as they showed no symptoms of suffering;-, 

 my mind was fairly well set at rest with regard to their standing 

 the rigours of a Scotch winter. 



I got my Emus upon 2()th October. 1S7.T. or just a year after 

 the Rheas. and any further remarks upon cold applies to both 

 species. The pair of old Emus sometimes, though not always, 

 went into a shed at night, but I have seen them oftener '• roosting " 

 in the snow. None of my young birds ever entered a shelter, and 

 fre(|uently. when they were only a few weeks old and newly 

 featliered. I have seen them on hard frosty mornings lying on the 

 ground with the tips of tlieir feathers frozen to the soil. When 

 they were disturbed they suddenly rose up, leaving a ring of torn 

 out feathers all round the spot of their night's resting place. 

 When I tell you that both species survived the terrible winter of 

 1880-81, you will agree with me in thinking th:it these birds will 

 stand any amount of cold they are likely to encounter in this 

 climate provided then <*''* '^"«'^ fr^l- ^^ the same time, that winter 

 did not pass without disaster, though entirely owing to the cruel 

 neglect of the man charged with the duty of feeding them. The 

 ground was covered with snow more than a foot deep during the 

 greater piirt of the winter, and the thermometer, which stood for 

 many days at 1° only above zero at mid-day with a cloudless sky, 

 fell on one night to 10° below zero. I'uring the coldest time I 

 found three of the young birds, then not quite half grown, dead, 

 and the others in a very weak state, and I feared I would lose all. 

 On offering the survivors food they ate it greedily, and mj"^ sus- 

 picions were roused as to my man's fidelity. On " putting- him to 

 the question " he confessed with great reluctance that for more 

 than a week the weather had been '• ow'er coorse for him to g'ang" 

 and feed them," though their feeding trough was no more than 

 200 yards from the dwelling-house. The Rheas were in much the 

 same plig'ht, but good feeding put them all to rights. I put the 

 latter in a stall of the stable for a few days only till they regained 

 the strength lost owing to their long fast. They were turned out 

 again, and stood the prolonged and rigorous winter with 

 impunity. 



Here I cannot refrain from narrating an mcident which 

 happened during the visit of a certain legal friend, who shall be 

 nameless, as I am glad to say he is still alive aud in robust health, 



