THE CASSOWARY. 55 



turkey. Their maintenance could not be expen- 

 sive, if, as Narborough says, they live entirely 

 upon grass. 



CHAPTER VL 



THE CASSOWARY. 



THE Cassowary is a bird which was first brought 

 into Europe by the Dutch, from Java, in the 

 East Indies, in which part of the world it is only 

 to be found. Next to the preceding, it is the 

 largest and heaviest of the feathered species. 



The cassowary, though not so large as the for- 

 mer, yet appears more bulky to the eye ; its body 

 being nearly equal, and its neck and legs much 

 thicker and stronger in proportion : this confor- 

 mation gives it an air of strength and force, which 

 the fierceness and singularity of its countenance 

 conspire to render formidable. It is five feet and 

 a half long, from the point of the bill to the ex- 

 tremity of the claws. The legs are two feet and a 

 half high, from the belly to the end of the claws. 

 The head and neck together are a foot and a half; 

 and the largest toe, including the claw, is five 

 inches long. The claw alone of the least toe is 

 three inches and a half in length. The wing is 

 so small, that it does not appear ; it being hid 

 under the feathers of the back. In other birds, a 



