256 EGG-SHELLS FEATHERS. 



Even the egg-shell is of considerable value, and is an ex- 

 cellent vessel for holding liquids of any kind. The Bushmen 

 have hardly any other. By covering it with a light net-work, 

 it may be carried slung across the saddle. Grass, wood, &c., 

 serve as substitutes for corks. 



By the monks of Dayr Antonios, we are informed that the 

 Copts (by whom the eggs are looked upon as the emblem of 

 watchfulness, and who suspend them in their churches) pass 

 the cords of their lamps through the shell in order to prevent 

 the rats from coming down and drinking the oil. 



The shell of the egg is used medicinally. The Boers, after 

 reducing it to powder and mixing it with vinegar, give it to 

 cattle afflicted with strangury, for which disease it is consid- 

 ered a sovereign remedy. The powder itself is said to be an 

 excellent preservative against blindness. 



The white wing-feathers* of the ostrich (the black ones are 

 used chiefly for mourning) are a considerable article of com- 

 merce. The market, however, is very fluctuating. At the 

 Cape the price varies from one or two guineas sterling to as 

 much as twelve for the pound, the latter sum, however, being 

 only paid for very prime feathers. The thinner the quill, 

 and the longer and more wavy the plume, the more it is 

 prized-t Seventy to ninety feathers go to the pound. But, 

 although half this number may be obtained from a single 



* The phimes, together with the eggs, of the ostrich, are said to 

 have been held in much request with the ancient Egyptians. Indeed, 

 they formed part of the tribute imposed on those of the conquered na- 

 tions in whose country the bird abounded, and appear to have been 

 used for ornaments as well as for religious purposes. " The ostrich 

 feather was a symbol of the Goddess of Truth or Justice. It belonged 

 also to the head-dress of Ao, was adopted by Hermes Trismegistus, 

 and worn by the soldiery and the priests on certain religious festivals." 

 " In Turkey, the janizary who signalized himself in arms had the priv- 

 ilege of empluminghis turban, and in the kingdom of Congo the feath- 

 ers, mixed with those of the peacock, are employed as the ensigns of 

 war and victory." 



t Such feathers as have been plucked ft-om the wings of the living 



