30 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



some sent to him some years before on consignment, 

 and which he was about shipping back as utterly un- 

 saleable in the country ; and now look at the thousands 

 of tons which are annually imported ! 



Efforts are constantly being made by the English 

 manufacturers to send out complete ready-made fences, 

 with iron standards and iron winding-posts ; but the 

 standards always bend and break, while the fences are 

 never high enough for Ostriches, and the cost is in- 

 finitely greater than a thoroughly good fence with the 

 hard wooden posts procurable in most parts of the 

 country. The only really good iron standard that has 

 ever been sent out is the hollow iron post, but its 

 cost is prohibitive ; it is never used except by 

 government to fence some parts of the line on the 

 railways. But " Massa Government — him very rich 

 man." 



The general fences in use consist of — 

 Bush-fencing, 

 Wattle-fencing, 

 Post and Wire, 



The same, with Bush Interlaced, 

 Stone Walls. 



We will take these seriatim. 



Bush-fmcing consists simply of bush cut down and 

 piled up to the height of a few feet, being either ridden 



