214 
REPORT 
gethcr the above flocks we have some seventy-five 
chickens, all hatched since August by the incubator — 
all alive and well. 
" We next mounted our horses and proceeded to an 
enclosure separated by the river from the home ground. 
In this enclosure we found fifteen full-grown birds, or 
mostly full-grown, among which were an old cock and 
two laying hens, and possibly a pullet, which Mr. 
Douglass told us he thinks is just beginning to lay. 
The old cock is very savage and fightable, and was 
given some mealies (maize) to amuse him while we rode 
quietly by. The old fellow attacked his master while 
on horseback some little time ago ; he succeeded in 
getting his breast up to the horse, and kicked most 
furiously, but owing to the unusual position he had 
attained, his kicks went for nothing, except once when 
his toe ripped open the skin of the horse's flank, which 
set the horse going in turn. The fact is, if the old 
birds only knew how to use their beaks as well as their 
feet, they would be most dangerous animals — as it is, 
though they peck off your hat and pull your ears, their 
operations in this way are nothing much. These 
fifteen birds have a large enclosure all to themselves. 
And here we may as well say that there are no sheep 
on the farm, and in the enclosures dedicated to the 
ostriches, except in the home field, there is no other 
kind of stock. We next, after a mile more or less, 
came to an enclosure in which were a very fine old 
cock and two laying hens. Here we were shown a 
nest, after due precaution having been taken to decoy 
the old monachee into a pen with some mealies, and 
safely shut him up, but we must confess we gave one 
or two rather anxious looks towards the pen aforesaid, 
