68 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



of the world. The feathers as bought are all assorted 

 abroad into cases adapted for the different markets, 

 packed in tin-lined cases, or cases lined with prepared 

 paper, sewn up in canvas, and shipped to England. 



The English sales are held monthly. The principal 

 auctioneers are Messrs. Lewis & Peat, and Hale & Son ; 

 the feathers catalogued by them at this month's sale 

 consisting of 590 cases, with a net weight of 15,769 lbs. 

 The cases on arrival are warehoused at the warehouses 

 in Billiter Street, where they are opened, and tlie 

 feathers exposed on tables with wire divisions to sepa- 

 rate each lot, one long table under the windows being 

 reserved for intending purchasers to examine the 

 feathers on. The warehouses are open for a few 

 days before the sale, and intending purchasers go 

 with their catalogues, the great dealers examine and 

 fix their valuations on every case, the smaller buyers 

 only valuing those cases that are likely to suit their 

 wants. On entering the warehouse the visitor is taken 

 in charge by one of the attendants, who remains with 

 him as long as he is in the building, and carries any 

 lots he wishes to examine from the feather tables to the 

 table under the windows. The sales are held at the 

 ^^ Commercial Sale Rooms," Mincing Lane ; but we 

 cannot do better than give the notice and conditions 

 as published on the catalogues, viz. : — 



