September, 1913 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



167 



adv^crse circumstances tliesa birds 

 thro\'e well, and in a few vears 

 Mr. RarraclidTi had over loo head, 

 but owing; to the limited area of 

 the farm little expansion of the 

 llock was possible. The feathers 

 are made up and sold on the farm, 

 and realise good prices. 



In ivoo, a pair of ostriches was 

 placed at the Hawkesbu'ry Agri- 

 cultural College, and thcy .uid 

 they progeny have been the ad- 

 miration of the thousands of visi- 

 tors to tlmt institution ever since. 

 The feathers have always found a 

 good market ; and a few years ago 

 an exhibit was sent from the 

 College to the Franco-British Kx- 

 hibition and was awarded a Gold 

 ^ledal. This is proof enough that 

 even on the indifferent land of the 

 College farm the birds ^vill thrive 

 and furnish remunerative returns. 



A flock of twenty-four adult 

 birds, the progeny of the College 

 stock, was taken to Queensland, 

 where attention is now being paid 

 to the subject of ostrich raising. 



In 1905, Captain .) . E. Cairns, 

 now of Nardoo, 17 miles from 

 Coonamble, started ostrich farm- 

 ing with a partner, :Mr. R. B. San- 

 derson, at Gilgandra. The begin- 

 ning was made with six pairs of 

 birds purchased from the South 

 Australian Ostrich Company. In 

 1907, when the flock had increased 

 to sixty-seven birds, they were re- 

 moved to Coonamble. The ostriches 

 now number 550, and the aim is 

 to still further increase them. 



The farm comprises 7,500 acres, 

 of which 2,500 are devoted to os- 

 triches and, the balance , to sheep. 

 Captain Cairns intimates that he 

 receives a greater net profit from 

 the ostriches than from the sheep, 

 though the area occupied by the 

 latter is double the size, and the 

 returns from the ostriches are on 

 account of sales of feathers only. 

 No birds have been sold from Nar- 

 doo, as the number has not yet 

 reached the total to be kept. It 

 can thus be seen that this indus- 

 try is capable of increasing the 

 value of the production of our 

 great western lands. 



An artesian bore provides abun- 

 dance of water. The country con- 

 sists largely of dark sandy loam, 

 with belts of timber and some 

 " black soil " plains. It is known 

 as " herbage " country, and car- 

 ries very little grass. The chief 

 winter pasture plants are crows- 

 foot, trefoil, wild carrot, parsnip, 

 and a plant known locally as 

 lamb's tongue. In summar, tar 

 vine, bull vine, and salt weed are 



plentiful. This " herbage " tx)un- 

 try always keeps .stock in condition 

 even when there is no feed oliserv- 

 able to the untrained eye. At 

 Coonanible Captain Cairfies was 

 not compelled to hand-iced his os- 

 triches at any time, not even dur- 

 ing the drought of last year, until 

 a fortnight before the drouglit 

 broke. 



It is roughly estimated that land 

 will support three times as many 

 sheep as ostriches. T-his country 

 is considered capable of carrying a 

 sheep to 2 acres ; thus on 6<x) acres 

 100 ostriches can be maintained 

 withoi'it difficulty, running on na- 

 tural pasture alone. But to grow 

 fodder for the l)irds will certainly 

 enhance the returns, not only by 

 increasing the carrying capacity of 

 the land, but also by giving abet- 

 ter quality of feather, and a 

 greater increase of chicks. I/ucerne 

 does very well on the dark loam 

 under irrigation with bore water. 

 This fodder is rich in protein, and 

 its adyantages for the production 

 of feathers are indicated by theory 

 and supi^orted by practical experi- 

 ence. Captain Cairnes has 30 to 

 40 acres under lucerne, on land 

 which appears to be very suitable 

 for the legume. The crop was 

 sown three years ago, and gives a 

 cut about ever}' six weeks in sum- 

 mer. 



But Captain Cairnes grows lu- 

 cerne merel}' as an insurance 

 against drought. The ha^' is being 



stored in ,1 big shed, and will only 

 be used in case of neces.sitv, the 

 ostriches deriving their subsistence 

 from the natural herbage. When 

 lucerne is to l)e fed it is chaffed, 

 damjied, and then mixed with a 

 Httle bran or mai/.c. 



The soil at Nardoo, to all ap- 

 pearances, seems to be free from 

 stones or gravel, yet it is not 

 found necessary to give the birds 

 any grit ; the keen eye of the os- 

 trich finds sullicient of this for 

 mastication. 



Artificial incjibation is practised 

 at Nardoo, but Captain Cairnes is 

 of o'pinion that natural hatching 

 has some advantages. 



At Coonamble the fjirds begin to 

 ''lay when from aj^ to ,^ years old. 

 Nesting commences about July, 

 and the hatching season runs on to 

 March. 



The writer became intereeted in 

 ostrich farming in South Africa in 

 1902, and remained in that country 

 until 1908, reti'irning then to the 

 Commonwealth thoroughly con- 

 vinced that >ii;stralia is' equally as 

 well adapted, if not more so, than 

 South Africa, for the raising of os- 

 triches and production of plumes. 

 After making several enquiries as 

 to w^here ostriches could be obtain- 

 ed — the prohibition embargo had 

 already been placed on the export 

 of ostriches from South Africa, 



(Continued on page 170). 



EXECUTOR TRUSTEE & AGENCY 



COMPANY OF S.A., LiMlTED. 



Capital Authorised = . = = £100,000 



Capital Subscribed -. -. = . £75,000 

 Uncalled Capital, Capital Paid up, and Reserves £109,273 

 Amount at credit of Esiates, Trusts, and Clients £2,630,724 



DIRECTORS— W. J. Magarey (Chairman), W. Herbert PhilUpps, 

 L,. A. Jessop, H. C. E. Muecke Richard Smith, E. W. van Senden. 



The Company transacts all classes of business as Executor, 

 Trustee, Attorney and Agent. When winding up an estate only one 

 charge is made for realization. 



Apply or Write for Full Informatiop. Money to Lend at Current Rates . 



SA FE DEPOSIT. 



The Company's SAFE DEPOSIT provides absolute security for 

 the storage, under Depositor's sole control, of CASH, DEEDS, 

 JEWELLERY, SCRIP, PLATE, and other VALUABLES. 



ERNEST W. "WILLIAMSON, Manager- 

 W. W. CARTER, Assistant Managep. 



Offices. 22 Grenfell Street. 

 Adelaide. 



