52 Ostrich-farming in South Africa. 



same rate as in the past twelve years. The best of the country 

 for Ostrich-farming — that is, where the rainfall is not over 

 20 inches, with a rich, soil, shelter from high winds, and 

 no extremes of temperature — is now pretty fully stocked, 

 and further increase must come from parts not so well 

 adapted to the industry or from more land being put under 

 irrigation and lucerne. Still the difficulties are such that this 

 area can only be extended very slowly. It would therefore 

 seem that, so far as the capabilities of South Africa go, the 

 rate of increased production is not likely to exceed the 

 requirements of the trade. With the superior feathers 

 now beginning to be produced, it is probable that the trade 

 will demand the better and neglect the inferior feathers; and 

 as the Cape Government exacts an export duty of .€100 a 

 bird, the superior birds will be found only in South Africa. 

 There are also great difficulties to be overcome in starting 

 the industry successfully in other countries. We have seen 

 that the birds during the breeding-season are very fierce and 

 dangerous, and it is difficult to get labourers not used to the 

 work to have anything to do with them. Besides which 

 there are few industries in which skill and knowledge in 

 selecting the birds have so much to do with the success of the 

 undertaking. Not only to establish a troop of Ostriches but 

 to maintain it up to a good standard requires the constant 

 weeding-out of inferior birds ; and in a new country, with no 

 removal of the less fit, the birds would rapidly deteriorate. 



It may be said that all these difficulties had to be overcome 

 in the Cape Colony. But it should be recollected that for the 

 first few years after the industry was started the birds pro- 

 duced feathers at each plucking of from €10 to €12 in value, 

 so that costly mistakes could be more easily borne ; but now, 

 with pluckings averaging €3 for a bird, mistakes would make 

 the business a loss. So we may presume that there will not 

 be any sudden or large production in other countries, and 

 that this industry will continue to be very lucrative in the 

 Colony for many years. 



