126 HOME LIFE ON AN OSTRICH FARM. 



The partiality of jackals and crows for ostrich-eggs, 

 expensive though it is to us, reflects credit on their 

 taste ; for the eggs are certainly delicious. Those 

 which, being useless for setting, found their way into 

 my kitchen, were always most acceptable ; and I have 

 never had lighter cakes, nicer omelettes, custards, etc., 

 than those made from them. And then they go so far,! 

 Two large square biscuit tins can be filled to over- 

 flowing with a noble batch of sponge finger biscuits, 

 for which only one egg has been used. In spite of its 

 large size — equalling twenty-four fowls' eggs — an 

 ostrich-egg has no coarse flavour. It takes an hour to 

 boil one hard ; in which state it is a splendid article of 

 food for baby ostriches. 



Ostrich -eggs were much prized by the ancient 

 Egyptians ; and Gardiner Wilkinson tells us that they 

 " were required for some ornamental or religious use, as 

 with the modern Copts ; and, with the plumes, formed 

 part of the tribute imposed by the Egyptians on 

 conquered countries.'' 



Not long ago, T and I were much amused by the 



discovery, among copious notes in an old Bible dated 

 1770, of the following passage from a quaint old writer : 

 " The Ostrich, which the Arabians call Naama, is a 

 wild Bird of the Shape of a Goose, but much bigger 

 than that; it is very high upon its Legs, and has a 

 Neck of more than four or five Spans long : The Body 

 is very gross, and in its Wings and Tail it has large 

 Feathers black and white (like those of the Stork) and 

 some grey ; it cannot fly, but it runs very fast ; in 



