LOCOMOTION. 263 
ges, and I am satisfied that those I am spvaking of 
would have distanced the fleetest racehorses that 
were ever bred in England. It is true they would 
not hold out so long as a horse, but, without all 
doubt, they would be able to perform the race in 
less time. I have frequently beheld this sight, 
which is capable of giving one an idea of tlte pro- 
digious strength of an ostrich, and of showing what 
use it might be of had we but the method of break- 
ing it and managing it as we do a horse.”* 
The traveller, Moore, mentions that he saw a 
man journeying mounted upon an ostrich, though 
both this and the instance given by M. Adanson 
show the circumstance to be of unusual occur- 
rence. | J 
The bustard (Odis tarda, Ray) is very similar to 
the ostrich in its faculty of running, being so fleet 
as to be hunted with greyhounds, a sport followed 
even by the ancient Greeks, as we learn from Xen- 
ophon and Adlian. The male of this species is 
furnished with a singular bag or pouch, opening 
under the tongue, and hanging down on the fore- ° 
part of the gullet as low as the middle of the neck. 
This seems to have been first observed by Aris- 
totle, but was particularly described by Dr. Doug- 
las, who imagined it was intended as a reservoir 
for. water, indispensable in the extensive arid plains 
which it inhabits. He found it capacious enough 
to hold several quarts of water. Colonel Monta- 
gu, however, seems to be somewhat skeptical upon 
this point. ‘‘ We think it impossible,” he says, 
“ the bird could fly with such an addition of weight 
before its wings which would throw it out of the 
centre of gravity. We see the heron, and many 
other birds, obliged to extend their legs behind, and 
contract their necks when flying, in order to bal- 
ance themselves on the wing.” It would appear, 
* Voyage to Senegal, Pinkerton’s Collection, xvi., 69. 
