90 OSTKICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



The feathers are put up at per lot as catalogued, the 

 bidding beinor in advances of £2 10s. a bid on the kroner 

 lots, and £1 a bid on the smaller cases. The auctioneer 

 sits on a raised dais, with two assistants on either side, 

 the company being in front of them on seats rising tier 

 upon tier. The chief assistant generally starts the lot at 

 something far below its value, as, for instance, a case 

 worth £250 he will start by crying out, ^' .£150 on 

 my side ; ^' the assistant on the other side catches a 

 look from a buyer, and shouts, ^'52 10 my side;^^ 

 the other assistant catches a sign from a bidder — 

 perhaps nothing more than a sign with his penholder — 

 and shouts, ^'55 my side;" and so on, till the 

 bidding stops, and the lot is knocked down, when the 

 assistant who got the last bid shouts out, " My buyer,^^ 

 or some such expression, and writes down his name in 

 his list. In no case is the name of the purchaser 

 disclosed. To prevent mistakes, especially where two 

 bidders are sitting close together, the assistant who took 

 the last bid gives a glance at the man he booked the lot 

 down to, and gets an answering glance back to make 

 sure he is right. A great many lots are bought in, 

 and the old hands in many cases know when it is so, 

 and pass their remarks freely. 



Judging from what I have seen, I should say very 

 few of our best feathers ever go on the public sales, and 



