ORDER GRALL.C. 437 



Moses interdicted to the Jews the eating of the flesh of the 

 ^strich, as an unclean meat. That of the old ones is hard 

 and ill-flavoured ; but that of the young, when they are fat, 

 i s eatable. The Romans used to eat of it very commonly, in 

 the time of the emperors ; and Heliogabalus, in one of his 

 fantastic whims, had the brains of six hundred of these 

 animals served up at a single repast. 



The eggs of the ostrich are of a quality more gross and 

 compact than those of the hen ; they are of a sweetish taste, 

 and sooner satiate the appetite. The inhabitants of the Cape 

 make with these eggs a sort of pates, or puddings, and ome- 

 lettes. As their shell is very thick, they can be very well 

 preserved on board ship, where the eggs of hens very soon 

 grow musty. Drinking cups are made with the shell, which 

 hardens with time, and assumes some resemblance to ivory. 



When the Nasamones, inhabitants of Lybia, went to war, 

 their defensive arms were made of the skin of the ostrich, 

 which is very thick, and which even at the present day serves 

 to make cuirasses for some of the Arab troops. The Ethio- 

 pians sell these skins to the merchants of Alexandria, where 

 Belon saw a great quantity of them, with the feathers on, in 

 the shops. The long white plumes of the tail and wings 

 have been in request at all times. The Roman soldiers wore 

 them on their helmets, and they still constitute an ornament 

 for the head of the warriors. In Turkey, when the Janissaries 

 existed, a soldier who had signalized himself by some feat of 

 arms, had the privilege of thus decorating his turban. In 

 the kingdom of Congo, these plumes, mixed with those of the 

 peacock, are employed in the fabrication of warlike ensigns. 

 It is well known what a prodigious consumption is made of 

 them in Europe for hats, theatrical dresses, furniture, cano_ 

 pies, funeral ceremonies, &c. Their soft and waving motion 

 renders them in high esteem for female ornaments. Those 

 are more esteemed which have been plucked from the animal 



