222 THE OSTEICH. 



birds are not intended as objects of commerce ; they 

 never kill them ; they form, in fact, part of the tribe, 

 or of the village. 



Sometimes they are hatched in the tent by artificial 

 means. 



As soon as they are six months old, no further 

 trouble is taken with them, and they go to seek 

 nourishment in the neighbouring pastures, taking care, 

 however, always to find themselves close to the tent 

 at meal times. The farmers in the neighbourhood of 

 the Cape allow them to feed in their fields, and they 

 never attempt to fly. 



Amongst the abiades of the Sahara, flocks of twenty 

 or thirty individuals follow the cattle to the pastures, 

 and return with them every evening. One traveller 

 saw at Esne some ostriches belonging to the Gover- 

 nor promenading freely in the town, visiting the 

 markets and returning to the palace in the evening 



This attashmant and obedience is obtained by 

 treating tha ostrich with kindness. It is necessary to 

 caress them often when they are young, to be careful 

 not to frighten them, and never to be sharp with them. 

 It has been stated that ostriches which have been 

 given away and taken a very long distance from their 

 ^ domicile, have returned to their first master. 



"I find them," says M. Bouteille, director of the 

 Zoological Gardens at Grenoble, "more susceptible of 



