350 A HAND-BOOK OF THE MANAGEMENT OF ANIMALS 



could never have been truly determined. Of the few cases that came. 

 under observation, the diagnosis was supposed to have been correct in 

 one only ; it was that of acute rheumatism : it happened just about 

 the termination of the rains, and was no doubt brought about by 

 damp, wet, and close confinement. The patient was hung on a sling, and 

 anodynes, such as liniments of aconite and camphor, applied to the limbs ; 

 internally acetate of potash (3 J in a dose) was given twice daily, mixed' 

 with treacle and other eatables ; but nothing availed : it lingered for 

 about a month and died. A perfectly healthy male ostrich took ill one 

 evening in April 1889, and was found dead the next morning. An 

 autopsy was performed, and every organ was found to be as healthy as 

 possible. There was a good deal of fat, but not to such an extent as to 

 endanger life. There was, however, something wrong with the stomach • 

 it was packed full of the food eaten the previous morning, includ- 

 ing quantities of small stones and broken bricks. There was no 

 digestion at all. The contents washed out, its surface was carefully 

 examined ; but nothing unusual could be detected. The case was pro- 

 nounced to be a most unaccountable one by a competent authority who 

 was present on the occasion, and to whom the bird was well known, 

 and was attributed to distention of the stomach. Ostriches have suffered 

 from cold brought on by exposure to draughts at night during the 

 winter; the symptoms were— constant running from the nose, prostra- 

 tion, dullness, and want of appetite ; temperature was high, and prob- 

 ably there was fever also ; the bird was kept in-doors and provision 

 made to secure its warmth at night ; to support its strength it was fed 

 on pounded meal mixed with boiled eggs, but as the patient showed 

 great disinclination for food it had to be coaxed to eat. After a few days 

 the animal was allowed to go out for an hour or two in the middle of 

 the day : under this treatment it recovered in about a month. As a 

 premonitary symptom of some fatal malady, ostriches have been noticed 

 more than once to bend their neck in a peculiar way. 



Observations on the habits of Ostriches. 



Like the emu, the ostrich is also inquisitive, but never as tame or 

 familiar ; there is a certain amount of wayward playfulness about it ; 

 the fleetness of an ostrich is remarkable, and some idea of it may be formed 

 even in captivity ; it is seldom at rest during the whole day, and executes 

 most amusing antics and movements ; it emits a deep booming sound, 

 accompanied by much inflation of the neck. Whether from pure inquisi- 

 tiveness or from a mischievous pleasure it finds in annoying a man, 

 an ostrich sometimes behaves in a funny way, as the following instance, 

 among others, will show. A sweeper woman was one morning engaged 

 in cleaning the portion of the road just outside the enclosure of an 

 ostrich. As soon as she came close to it, the bird trotted up and stood 

 opposite her. She was naturally afraid to stoop and work in front of a 

 formidable beak so menacingly near. She waited for half a minute, but 

 the bird would not move ; she raised her broom stick and shouted, the 

 bird was still there. It would strut away for a second or two, but come 

 back immediately again, and stand there, gently stamping its feet, 

 swaying its neck, and flapping its wings, in evident satisfaction at the 

 bewilderment of the woman. 



