368 DESCRIPTION OF THE MUSEUM. 



We now come to the grallce, or waders, so 

 called from the length of their legs ; they form 

 the fifth order in the general system of classifi- 

 cation. Those of the two first genera, which 

 occupy the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth cases, 

 differ from all others in being deprived of the 

 power of flight. The first is the ostrich (struthio 

 camelus) ; this bird, celebrated in the remotest 

 ages, is sometimes eight feet high; it lives in herds 

 in the sandy deserts of Africa, and feeds on grains 

 and herbage ; no animal can run so fast. The fe- 

 male lays her eggs, which weigh three or four 

 pounds, on the sand. She abandons them to be 

 hatched by the heat of the sun in the tropical re- 

 gions, but sits upon them in the colder climates ; 

 when the young are hatched she holds them be- 

 tween her legs. There are some tame ostriches 

 in Senegal, which are ridden like horses, but they 

 are not to be trained or guided at will. Their 

 feathers form a considerable article of commerce ; 

 they are light and waving, because their plumes 

 are not hooked to each other as in almost all 

 other birds. Above the female ostrich, which is 

 accompanied by its eggs and youn^g of different 

 ages, is the nandou y or American ostrich, about 

 half the size of that of the ancient continent. 

 Its feathers, which are made into brooms, are 

 sold for vulture feathers. Several females are 



