672 



OSTRICH-F ARMING IN THE UNITED STATES. 



county officers, so that they shall receive such com- 

 pensations as are commensurate with their services. 



4. That we regard the free-school system of our 

 State as the special care and pride of the Kepublican 

 party. 



5. That it is the policy of the Kepublican party to 

 foster and encourage the development of our State by 

 the construction of railways which will place us in 

 direct communication with our sister States. 



6. That we hold all corporations to be strictly re 

 sponsible to their liabilities under the law, and recog- 

 nize the right of the Legislature to enact all reasonable 

 limitations on corporate powers. 



8. That we favor the enactment of a law by Con- 

 gress, restoring to settlers the right to homestead and 

 pre-empt in all cases where, by abandonment of en- 

 tries and filing, they have hitherto not had the full 

 benefit of these acts. 



9. That the rapidly increasing manufacturing and 

 wool-raising interests of the State demand the con- 

 tinued fostering care of the General Government. 



10. That the reciprocity treaty with the Sandwich 

 Islands is an imposition upon the Government and 

 the people, and should be speedily abrogated. t 



We here earnestly declare it to be our belief that 

 Chinese immigration to the United States should be 

 restricted, and we demand that our representatives in 

 Congress shall persist in advocating the enactment of 

 a law that will effectively accomplish this result. 



ELECTION EETTJENS. The election in June 

 resulted in the choice of the Kepublican ticket. 

 The following is the vote : 



The Legislature chosen at this election con- 

 sists of 16 Republicans and 14 Democrats in 

 the Senate, and 37 Republicans, 21 Democrats, 

 and two Independents in the House. 



OSTRICH-FARMING IN THE UNITED 

 STATES. This is a new branch of industry 

 proposed for introduction, with promises of rich 

 returns. In May, 1881, it appears that twen- 

 ty-two South-African ostriches were shipped 

 to this country, by way of Buenos Ayres, 

 South America. The birds survived the long 

 sea-voyage, and were placed in the Central 

 Park inclosure, New York. As ostrich-farming 

 has been a very profitable industry in South 

 Africa since 1867, more than $6,500,000 worth 

 of feathers being exported annually, it is urged 

 that American farmers should turn their atten- 

 tion to this new and alluring venture. The 

 business is successful in Buenos Ayres, where 

 the birds flourish and produce a superior quality 

 of feathers. It is claimed that the United States, 

 particularly the Southern, Southwestern, and 

 Pacific States, are admirably adapted to the 

 raising of these birds, who need only an inclosed 

 paddock, or grass-field, with sufficient pastur- 

 age to sustain them. They thrive, it is said, 

 on clover, grass, weeds, grain of any kind, 

 acorns, potatoes, beets, turnips, onions, car- 



rots, salt, small pebbles, and chopped bones. 

 From what appear to be reliable statements, 

 it is asserted that the product of feathers from 

 one bird annually is worth $60, wholesale, in 

 London. Where the pasturage is very good, 

 the yield of one plucking has reached $150, 

 which, however, is much in excess of what is 

 ordinarily to be expected. There being two 

 pluckings a year, it is deemed reasonable to 

 expect at least $120 worth of feathers from 

 each bird annually in the United States. 



An ostrich of two years old costs about 

 $375 ; deducting from the yield a percentage 

 for expenses and risks of mortality, the profit 

 is still as much as 15 to 20 per cent on the in- 

 vestment. Any farmer of stock can place (say) 

 fifty birds on his land ; and as the trouble of 

 caring for them is not great, it is claimed as 

 certain that the returns will be large. The cost 

 of four-year-old birds is estimated at $1,200 

 per pair, and for breeders $1,750 per pair. By 

 the process of incubation it is expected that 

 sixty chicks will be annually reared from a pair 

 of breeders. The first plucking of feathers, at 

 the end of nine months, is worth $5 or $6 per 

 bird, and every six months thereafter, the yield 

 is from $28 to $120 per plucking, according 

 to the age of the bird. Naturally, the birds 

 are timid, but they are readily domesticated, 

 and become on the farm as tame as chickens, 

 ducks, or geese. In the management of them, 

 it is best that they be collected and counted 

 about once a week. Every month they should 

 be brought into a small inclosure, when each 

 bird should be examined, and the ripe feathers 

 plucked. The process of displuming them is 

 quite simple. They are put in a corral, or 

 small pen, so confined that they can not exer- 

 cise their propensity for kicking, and while 

 two men hold the bird, a third proceeds to 

 pluck the feathers. A still safer and more sat- 

 isfactory way is to put the bird in a box or 

 stall made for the purpose. When the birds 

 are breeding, each pair should have a small in- 

 closure to themselves, say seventy yards square, 

 and a little grain daily. 



As a rule, each wing of an ostrich produces 

 twenty -four to twenty-six long feathers. In 

 the male bird they are all pure white, except 

 two, which are black and white, and usually 

 termed " natural fancy feathers," In the fe- 

 male the long wing-feathers are perfectly white 

 and gray. In addition, the male bird produces 

 at each plucking three ounces of smaller black 

 feathers; the small feathers of the female 

 are gray and drab in color. From the tail are 

 plucked forty ounces of feathers, those from 

 the male being white, and those from the fe- 

 male white, and white and gray. 



If the judgment of those best acquainted with 

 the subject be sound and correct, ostrich-farm- 

 ing promises to become an active and profit- 

 able pursuit. Further experiment will test the 

 question fully. 



