I ",e Ostrich, ot* which an illustration is presentea to 

 ' , /eader, is a bird so popularly known, that we need' 

 / if we had the space, which we have not, dilate upoa 

 peculiarities. 

 ,'is a native of 

 fiVica, where, 

 ' h the pathless 

 i h'ilds and arid 

 solitudes, it finds 

 a home. Inca- 

 pacitated hy Its 

 li eaviness for 

 flig-ht, it has re- 

 course to its 



Its wings, for 

 safety ; and in 

 this mamier it 

 lias been known (./ 

 to outstrip in 

 speed the fleetest 

 borsc. In Ara- 

 bia, the Arabs 

 liave availed 

 themselves of 

 this bird tor se- 

 curing a vehicle 

 of transit across 

 the Desert, and in tliis way they can travel for miles 

 at the most rapid speed, without the ostrich either suf- 

 fering from the weight of a man on its back, or sinking 

 under the fatigue. Pqrhaps in consequence of this, rail- 

 roads have not yet been introduced into this country, being^ 

 considered unnecessary whilst the race of ostriches re- 

 main. They are seldom prone to attack, except in self- 

 defence, and lead a passive kind of life. The female 

 lays a number of eggs at a time, whicli are buried in. 

 the sand, and left, generally, for the sun to warxn forth 

 into existence. Their height is usually from six to 

 seven feet. The ostrich is amongst birds, what the- 

 Cameleopard is amongst animals, bein^ remarkable for 

 the grace and beauty of its form. In the arid and 

 sandy deserts of Arabia, where the eye gazes for miles 

 on only the wide waste and clieerless prospect, without 

 an oasis beine found to relieve the monotorv of the scene. 



