OSTRICHES. 109 



the feathers of birds which have been thus treated 

 soon deteriorate. It is best to pluck only once a year. 

 The tails, and the glossy black feathers on the bodies 

 of the birds, having small quills, are not cut, but pulled 

 out ; this, everyone says, does not hurt the birds, but 

 there is an unpleasant tearing sound about the opera- 

 tion, and I think it must make their eyes water. 



After a plucking would come several very busy days 

 of sorting and tying up the feathers in readiness for 



the market ; for T , whenever he could spare the 



time, preferred doing this work himself to employing 

 the professional sorters in Port Elizabeth, who charge 

 exorbitantly. During these few days everything had 

 to give way to feathers, large piled-up masses of which 

 crowded the rooms, till we seemed to be over head and 

 ears in feathers. Feathers covered the floor and in- 

 vaded every article of furniture, especially monopolizing 

 the dining-table ; and when, at all sorts of irregular 

 hours, we grudgingly allowed ourselves time for rough, 

 impromptu meals of cold or tinned meat, we picnicked 

 among feathers. It was useless to attempt keeping the 

 rooms either tidy or clean while sorting was going on ; 

 and we resigned ourselves to living for those two or 

 three days in a state at which owners of neat English 

 homes would shudder indeed, those only who have 

 seen the process of sorting can form any idea of the 

 untidiness, the dust, the fluffs, and the sneezing. But 

 they were pleasant days ; and many an interesting book 

 will always be associated in our minds with the sorting 



of ostrich-feathers; for, while T arranged prime 



H 



