20 THE OSTRICH. 



by the sun, as has often been asserted, it never remains long ab* 

 sent from them ; and in a country where the heat is so intense, 

 constant incubation is unnecessary. The young ones, for some 

 days after they are hatched, can neither walk nor stand ; and 

 during that period of helplessness, the old ones attend them with 

 the most anxious solicitude. The eggs of this bird generally 

 weigh from twelve to fifteen pounds. 



The flesh of the ostrich is far from being palatable food ; but 

 it seems that its brains were, among the Romans, considered as 

 an exquisite morsel ; and when an inordinate luxury had super- 

 seded their former simplicity of manners, this dish was often 

 served up at the tables of the grandees of Rome ; but whether 

 on account of its delicacy, or its rarity, is uncertain. History 

 informs us, that Heliogabalus had the brains of a hundred 

 ostriches made up into one dish. The fat of this bird is of great 

 use in medicine ; and as an emollient, has performed wonderful 

 cures. The bones also, when pulverized, are said to have pro- 

 duced extraordinary effects. Thus we observe, that by a won- 

 derful adaptation, the Author of Nature has rendered this in- 

 habitant of the solitary desert conducive to the comfort of man, 

 not only in the decoration of his person, but in the more sub- 

 stantial blessing of renovated health. 



The inhabitants of Lybia are said to breed whole flocks of 

 these birds, which they tame and convert to domestic purposes ; 

 and A damson asserts, that he saw at the factory of Podore, an 

 ostrich with two negroes on its back, which ran faster than the 

 fleetest race-horse he had ever seen. This fact, it must be con- 

 fessed, seems scarcely credible ; but it is certain that the Arabs 

 train up their fleetest horses for the purpose of hunting the os- 

 trich, which, although a very laborious, is esteemed a very en- 

 tertaining amusement. Of all creatures, the ostrich is certainly 

 that which runs with the greatest speed ; its wings, as well as it? 

 legs, keeping in motion, serve as oars to waft it along; and did 

 it press forward in a direct line, instead of a circular course, it 

 would undoubtedly bid defiance to every mode of pursuit, [n 

 order to take them with less trouble, another method has some- 

 times been used, which is both singular and curious. A person 

 having clothed himself with the skin of an ostrich, and putting 

 one of his arms through the neck, has imitated all the motions 

 of that bird, so as to approach a flock of these creatures, and 

 catch some of them without difficulty. 



Although the ostrich inhabits the most solitary deserts, it does 

 not seem an unsocial creature. In these horrid regions, large 

 flocks of them are seen together, which, at a distance, appear 

 like a regiment of cavalry ; and being mistaken for a troop of 



