THE OSTRICH. 9 



colour, lias hairy feathers of no value, is quite wingless, 

 and lays a light-greenish egg. 



The whole trihe are noted for their excessive shyness 

 and timidity, without which in the struggle for existence 

 in the world they would ere this have ceased to exist, 

 from being deprived of the powers of flight. 



We have taken this glance at the other members of 

 the family, as it is essential that the Ostrich-farmer 

 should know thus much of them ; but we shall not have 

 again to refer to them, as our remarks will be entirely 

 on the African Ostrich (Struthio camehts), so called from 

 the resemblance of its foot to that of the camel. We 

 will now take a glance at its anatom3^ 



The reader need not fear a lot of dry, hard, scientific 

 names that would convey no information to him. My 

 intention is to convey such a general knowledge of the 

 frame of the bird the Ostrich-farmer has to deal with, 

 as shall assist him to make post-mortems of birds that 

 may die, and to convey in an intelligent manner to other 

 farmers anything peculiar he may notice. 



THE LEG. 



Most farmers call the joints by their wrong names. 

 The Ostrich walks on its toes ; what is commonly called 

 the ankle-joint is the second toe-joint of man. The so- 

 called knee-joint corresponds witli the ankle-joint, and 



