184 THE IMPOETANCE OF BIRD LIFE 



set away from them. Birds which a year before 

 had brought a thousand dollars a pair now were 

 eagerly offered for one tenth of that sum — with 

 no buyers. The price level for breeding birds 

 sank to twenty-five and thirty dollars apiece. In 

 desperation the farmers killed the ostriches, gave 

 them to "zoos," did everything they could think 

 of to rid themselves of the feed bills that now 

 threatened to swallow the profits of the last ten 

 years. By 1920 only 231 birds were recorded as 

 remaining on the once flourishing ostrich-farms 

 of the United States. The curtain of the industry 

 had rung down. 



Non-Existence of Egret Farms 



As a plume-bearing bird the ostrich stands in a 

 unique position; it is the only one which has re- 

 sponded in any way to domestication. A wild 

 creature may be tamed to exhibit no sign of fear 

 in the presence of men, but very few will breed 

 in captivity. The "zoos" are filled with birds 

 prized for their plumage, egrets, birds of para- 

 dise, crowned pigeons, and a score of others, all of 

 which seem to enjoy life in a large cage, but they 

 will not rear young there. Thus, so far as their 

 plumes are concerned, these birds are commercial 

 nonentities. And for that very reason, because 

 they will breed only in the wild state, have they 



