OSTRICH. 
465 
time assured him, that they were perfectly good. 
At another time, the same gentleman found a fe- 
male ostrich on a nest which contained thirty-two 
eggs; twelve were arranged at a little distance, 
each in a separate cavity formed for it. He remained 
near the spot some time, and saw three other fe- 
males come, and alternately seat themselves in the 
nest, each sitting for about a quarter of an hour, 
and then giving place to another, who, while wait- 
ing, sat close by the side of her whom she was to 
succeed. 
The voracity of the ostrich is almost incredible : 
he will swallow leather, hair, iron, stones, or any 
thing that is given him. Whether this proceeds 
from the same necessity which the smaller birds are 
under of picking up gravel to assist digestion, or 
from a want of distinguishing by the taste soluble 
substances from those that are insoluble, certain it 
is, that in the ostrich dissected by Ranby there 
appeared such a quantity of heterogeneous sub- 
stances, that it was wonderful how any animal could 
digest them. Another anatomist, Vallisnieri, found 
the stomach filled with a mixture of grass, nuts, 
cords, stones, glass, brass, copper, iron, tin, lead, 
and wood; apiece of stone was found among the 
rest that weighed more than a pound. He saw one 
of these animals that was killed by devouring a 
quantity of quick-lime. We can in no way account 
for this wonderful propensity in the ostrich, unless 
it is owing to some uneasiness about the stomach, 
which requires it to be constantly supplied, and nu- 
2 h 
VOL. I. 
