THE OSTRICH. 
15 
alarmed a whole caravan. There is no spot, 
however sterile, but what is capable of supply- 
ing them with provision, as they are of all crea- 
tures the most voracious, and possess surprising 
powers of digestion. Hence they will devour 
leather, hair, stones, or any thing that is given 
to them ; and those substances which the coats 
of the stomach cannot soften, are excluded in 
the form in which they were swallowed. In 
Southern Africa they are exceedingly injurious 
to the farmers ; as they will destroy a field of 
w r heat so effectually as not to leave a single ear 
behind. 
