434 
GALEATED CASSOWARY. 
coast, abound witli them. In a state of nature 
the female deposits three or four eggs at a time, 
and these are generally of a greenish or greyish 
colour, beautifully varied with elevated grass-green 
spots, and marked towards their smaller extremity 
with white ; they are deposited in the sand, and 
are left to be hatched by the heat of the sun and 
the atmosphere, but in some countries the female 
sits upon them as other birds do. 
The food consists of vegetables, and in contine- 
ineilt it will eat bread, apples, &c. ; all which it 
swallows whole, not bruising it with the beak ; 
and like the Ostrich, it will swallow almost any 
thing presented to it that is not too large to pass 
down the throat. Cassowaries are very tierce, 
and amazingly powerful, their beak being con- 
siderably stronger in proportion than that of the 
Ostrich, and with this they defend themselves 
most vigorously, and will break to pieces almost 
any hard substance. They strike in a very dan- 
gerous manner with their feet, either before or 
behind, at any object which offends them. 
Many of these birds have been brought to Eu- 
rope, as they bear the climate better than most 
animals imported from the torrid regions : several 
instances have occurred of their laying eggs during 
confinement. 
