A WONDERFUL PERFORMANCE. 



73 



open them, the male standing guard at night, to fight off the jackals, which are 

 among its numerous enemies. The average weight of an egg is about three pounds, 

 and, as I have said, it is con- 

 sidered the equivalent of two 

 dozen hen's eggs. 



The young, as soon as they 

 emerge from the shell, are about 

 the size of pullets, and are able 

 at once to follow their parents. 

 They quickly acquire an aston- 

 ishing capacity for speed, pre- 

 vious to which, if frightened, 

 they will squat down and re- 

 main immovable until the dan- 

 ger is past At such times, the 

 parent bird having them in 

 charge sometimes displays un- 

 expected cunning, by feigning 

 lameness, with a view to draw- 

 ing pursuit to himself or herself 

 and away from the helpless 

 ones. 



The ostrich is easily domesti- 

 cated, and I am sure you have 

 heard of the attempts in that 

 direction in this country. In 

 the southern part of Africa are 

 many ostrich farms, whose own- 

 ers have done well in rearing 

 the birds and selling their 

 plumes. 



Their voracity is not their 

 least remarkable characteristic. 

 Gravel, stones metal keys, 

 knives, and, I have been told, 

 horse shoes, have sometimes 

 formed a few of their articles 

 of diet 



It is the feathers of the bird 

 that constitute its chief value. 



THE RHBA OR AMERICAN OSTRICH. 



It requires seventy of these to weigh a pound, and, since twenty or twenty-five 

 marketable feathers is the largest number that can be plucked from a single 

 ostrich, you will appreciate the difficulty of supplying the demand for these luxuries. 



