OSTRICHES. 



(Oct. 22, 1892.) 



OSTRICHES have been. known to, and their feathers 

 appreciated by, mankind from time immemorial, 

 and it is, therefore, perhaps a little curious that 

 so much romance attached to them as was the 

 case till quite recently. Indeed, we doubt if, even 

 in these days of ostrich farms and incubators, 

 all the old-world fables are entirely exploded. 

 Though probably no one could be found like 

 Cardan, whom an old author tells us " Scalinger 

 do's, upon good grounds, laugh at" because he 

 was " of Opinion that Ostriches had red, blew, and 

 green Feathers, not knowing that they are dyed 

 of these Colours," yet many, we imagine, still 

 have a lingering belief that the stupid birds when 

 pursued do hide their heads in the sand under 

 the impression that they are then hidden from 

 their enemies, and that they are by no means 

 averse to, and are quite capable of assimilating, a 

 diet of stones, horse shoes, copper coins, and such- 

 like trifles. One of the most interesting accounts 

 of the ostrich given by mediaeval writers is that of 

 Pierre Belon du Mans, in his "Histoire de la 

 nature des Oyseaux," published in Paris in 1555. 



