ON THE OSTRICHES. 231 
The feathers from the ostriches on the Wimmera 
have been sold for high prices at various times, and 
arge numbers have been obtained and forwarded to 
the Council of the Acclimatisation Society; but the 
greater part 0 f them have, I regret to ^ been rf 
httie value from being left too long on the birds, owina 
t the great difficulty of getting them decoyed into 
the yard The pugnacious habits of the bird renders 
its complete domestication a matter of some risk and of 
considerab e difficulty I would recommend that some 
of the selectors be encouraged to attempt ostrich 
farmzng, and with this object a few might be sold at a 
moderate pnce Their personal care and attention 
' ofT ^ t0 a m ° re C ° m P lete d^estication 
of the bird than has been possible under my care 
I have prepared these notes, partly in the hope that 
themformatmn here collected together about the 
ostnch may be of service to any person who intends 
to try this novel industry, and partly that the Council 
of the Accbmatisation Society may know the cause 
which prevented a more decided success from being 
the result of my management of this interesting bird 
Besides enthusiasm in the cause of acclimatisation it' 
requires no little physical courage at times, when 
these birds are to be handled or driven, and the want 
of knowledge of the proper mode of management, and 
the difficulty. Should the experiment at Hilton 
continue to be a success, we have at any rate in this 
colony the nucleus of a breeding flock, upon which to 
make experiments to ascertain whether the climate be 
smted to the bl rd or otherwise. Perhaps the gentle! 
man, whose letter is given in this paper, signed 
