734 
OCT. 17 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
market, and I understand this is done even now only to a 
limited extent, simply because few who kill the cattle 
realize the value of the hides. Of course to obtain the 
best results the animal should be killed when the coat is 
full and perfect as in the case of all other animals whose 
skins are valuable. To my knowledge no one is breeding 
Galloways or Aberdeen-Angus with a special view to in¬ 
crease the value of their hides; but one or two are crossing 
them on West Highland cattle, using Aberdeen-Angus or 
Galloway bulls The offsprings of this cross, I understand, 
give hides that make very fine robes, as the beautiful 
black glossy color of the sires is largely retained, and the 
Highlander adds to the length of the hair. The other 
breeds of cattle, such as the Jersey, Holstein, Short-horn, 
Devon, Hereford, etc., have shorter, and, as a rule, stiffer 
hair of less striking color; and therefore their hides are 
not used for the purpose in question. I 
think cattle, and in fact all animals from 
cold climates, have warmer pelts—more of 
the “mossy” kind—which are generally 
softer to the touch. This is one of the 
virtues of the Aberdeen-Angus that we 
seldom speak of; but I feel that there is 
little doubt that ere long we will value 
them even more highly on this account. 
Turlington, Neb. J. R. harvey. 
The Galloway a Buffalo Substitute. 
As I am a breeder of Galloway cattle, 
perhaps my statements as regards the value 
of Galloway hides may be looked upon as 
those of a partisan ; but here is the truth 
so far as my knowledge extends. As re¬ 
gards Galloway robes proving a good sub¬ 
stitute for buffalo robes, I see no reason as 
yet why they—if properly tanned—are not 
quite equal and in some respects superior. 
The pelt is finer in grain than that of the 
buffalo, consequently will wear and exclude 
the wind better. The process of tanning 
renders it moth-proof. 1. Some years ago 
a dealer in bides told me that he considered 
those of the Galloway superior to all others 
as being finer grained and firmer, making 
better leather. 2. I do not think dealers 
will pay any more for them in open mar¬ 
ket, but they are glad to get them. 3. I do 
not think the hide itself is much affected 
by location, but the hair is, being much thicker and longer 
when the animal is exposed without shelter, even in this 
latitude. 4. As far as my knowledge extends, it is the aim 
of Galloway breeders in general to produce animals carry¬ 
ing heavy coats of hair. E. w. Richmond. 
Columbus, Wis. 
R. N.-Y.—We have long felt that Galloways would prove 
useful animals on the “abandoned farm” ranges in Ver¬ 
mont, New Hampshire and Maine. The pasturage is ex¬ 
cellent and lies in wide, hilly ranges that cannot be cul¬ 
tivated. Dairying pays well, but help is scarce and many 
of the farms are owned by men past the prime of life, 
who do not care to take up the active work 
of dairying. Sheep raising would pay, because 
it requires less work than dairying, but there 
is the old outcry against dogs. A good Galloway 
hide, properly tanned and lined, would be far 
more valuable than the wool from a dozen sheep, 
while the beef would command ready sale. The 
cattle would take care of themselves, too. 
Plenty of Rain Useful. 
1. The Galloway hides are superior because they 
have fine, long, silky hair, and an undercoat of a 
fine sort of wooly hair. 2. A good Galloway 
hide is worth from $60 to $100, when rightly 
tanned. I have seen an overcoat made of one, 
and $200 was refused for it. It was finished in 
London, and equaled the very best Astrakhan. 
8. For the production of fine hides a good deal of 
rain is needed. I don’t think heat affects them or 
retards the growth of the hair. I have seen very 
little difference here in the quality of the hides in 
a very cold winter and in the last two years when 
we had very open winters. 4. I don’t know 
whether any efforts are being made to get thicker 
hides and heavier coats of hair. We try to secure 
all the hair we can, as it is one of the char¬ 
acteristics of the breed. When one loses hair he loses 
character. dayid mckay. 
Fort Wayne, Ind._ 
LIFE ON AN OSTRICH FARM. 
Some South African Live Stock. 
Mrs. Annie Martin has written a very Interesting little 
book, called “Home Life on an Ostrich Farm,” which 
gives a graphic description of farm life in South Africa. 
It is so unique that we gladly make it the basis of one of 
The R. N.-Y.’s series of articles on odd phases of agricul¬ 
tural life. We propose to tell the story of people who 
draw a living from the care of sheep, cows, horses, pigs, 
poultry, skunks and other animals; why not describe a 
South African ostrich farm ? Through the courtesy of 
D. Appleton & Co., of this city, we are permitted to use 
the pictures as well as to give extracts from the book. The 
farm was located in the Karroo district, “ called the Zwart 
Ruggens, or black, rugged country, from the appearance 
It presents in the long droughts, when the vegetation turns 
to a forbidding black and is seemingly all dried up. But 
the sticks, when broken, are found all green and succulent 
inside, and full of a nourishing saline juice; and thus, 
even in long droughts, which sometimes last more than a 
year, this country is able to support stock in a most 
marvelous manner.” 
The farm comprised 12,000 acres in a long valley so 
hedged in J byj steep mountains that little fencing was 
needed. The country is subject to long and trying 
droughts. Often for more than a year there will be no 
rain worth mentioning, and the dams and reservoirs 
become dry; while the whole surface of the coun¬ 
try becomes a dull, ugly brown. At such times the 
ostriches gather about the house in groups, as shown at 
Fig. 260, “tapping with their bills on the windows as they 
look in at you ”—or stand gasping for breath—“ pictures of 
imbecile dejection.” The only safety in such times lies in 
deep wells which, though expensive, will save the lives of 
the birds. As to the profits of ostrich farming, Mrs. 
Martin says: “ In the early days of ostrich farming, 
splendid fortunes were made. Feathers were worth $500 
a pound, and $2,0C0 to $2,500 was no uncommon price for a 
good pair of breeding birds, while little chicks were worth 
$50 each. Indeed, the unhatched eggs have sometimes 
been valued at the same amount. But with the larger 
supply, $60 may be regarded as a fair price for the best 
pair of ostriches, and 30 shillings, as against £25 in the old 
times, for the feathers of the handsomest bird at one 
plucking.” 
One of the family’s first pets was a secretary bird— 
“ Jacob ’’—shown at Fig. 261. The Cape government pro¬ 
tects these birds for their usefulness in killing snakes. 
“Jacob” was “very friendly and affectionate, and soon 
grew too tame and noisy. He would intrude into the 
house and persist in staying there, till, when all other 
efforts to drive him away had failed, a dried puff-adder’s 
skin, of which he stood in mortal terror, was thrown at 
him, when he would run off and be gone for the day.” 
Habits and Characteristics of Ostriches. 
At Figs. 262 and 263 are shown two pictures of ostrich 
chicks, which are, Mrs. Martin tells us, about the prettiest 
young animals she has ever seen. She says : 
“ The ‘ chicken feathers ’ are plucked for the first time 
when the bird is nine months old. They are stiff and nar¬ 
row, with pointed tips. The quality is improved in the 
second year; but it is not till their wearer is plucked for 
the third time that the feathers have attained their full 
width and softness. During the first two years, when 
their plumage is all of a dingy drab mixed with black, the 
sexes can not be distinguished. Then they begin to dif¬ 
ferentiate ; and at five years, when the birds have attained 
maturity, the plumage of the male is of a beautiful glossy 
black and that of the female of a soft gray, while both 
have white wings and tails. In each wing there are 24 
long white feathers, which, when the wing is spread out, 
hang gracefully round the bird like a deep fringe. The 
thighs are bare and the flat head is bald, except for a few 
stiff bristles and scanty tufts of down. During the breed¬ 
ing season the bill of the male bird and the large scales on 
the fore part of his legs assume a beautiful deep rose-color, 
looking as if they were made of fine pink coral; and in 
some cases the skin of the head and neck becomes red too. 
“Ostriches are extremely nervous and subject to panics, 
under the influence of which they will run immoderately, 
often till they are lost. At plucking-time they are driven 
in from all the corners of the farm whither they have 
wandered, and collected first in a large inclosure, then in 
a small one, the plucking-kraal, in which they are crowded 
together so closely that the most savage bird has no room 
to make himself disagreeable. Besides the gate through 
which the ostriches are driven into the kraal, there is an 
outlet at the opposite end, through the ‘ plucking box.’ 
This is a firm wooden box, in which, though there Is just 
room for an ostrich to stand, he can not turn round or 
kick. At each end is a stout door, one of which opens in¬ 
side, the other outside, the kraal. Each bird in succession 
Is dragged up to the first door, and, after more or less of a 
scuffle, is pushed in and the door slammed behind him. 
Then the two operators, standing one on each side of the 
box, have him completely in their power ; and, with a few 
rapid snips of the shears, his wings are 
denuded of their long white plumes. These, 
to prevent their tips being spoiled, are 
always cut before the quills are ripe. The 
stumps of the latter are allowed to remain 
some two or three months longer, until 
they are so ripe that they can be pulled 
out—generally by the teeth of the Kaffirs— 
without hurting the bird. It Is necessary 
to pull them ; for the feathers which, by 
their weight would have caused the stumps 
to fall out naturally at the right time, are 
gone. Some farmers, anxious to hurry on 
the next crop of feathers, are cruel enough 
to draw the stumps before they are ripe : 
but Nature, as usual, resents the interfer¬ 
ence with her laws, and the feathers of the 
birds which have been thus treated soon 
deteriorate. 
“After a good rain, ostriches soon begin 
to make nests. The males become very 
savage, and their note of defiance is heard 
in all directions. The bird inflates his neck 
in a cobra-like fashion, and gives utterance 
to three deep roars, the first two short and 
staccato, and the third very prolonged, the 
whole being described as identical in sound 
with the roar of the lion. When the birds 
are savage, they become very aggressive, 
and it is impossible to walk about the 
camps unless armed with a weapon of de¬ 
fense called a tackey. This is a long and stout branch of 
mimosa, with the thorns all left on at the end. It seems 
but a feeble protection against a foe who, with one stroke 
of his Immensely powerful leg, can easily kill a man ; the 
kick, no less violent than that of a horse, being rendered 
Infinitely more dangerous by the formidable claw with 
which the foot is armed. Those, however, who are well 
practiced in the use of the tackey have no difficulty in 
dealing with the most furious bird. They thrust the 
thorns in his face, and he shuts his eyes and is bewildered, 
and the man goes on. Fortunately, one is never assailed 
by more than one ostrich at a time; for, in the large 
camps, each one has his own domain, separated 
from those of the others by some Imaginary 
boundary-line of his own, within which he de¬ 
fends his claims with vigor. Any other ostrich 
daring to invade his territory is at once attacked, 
and the human intruder is carefully looked out 
for till he Is seen safely away. Immediately after 
thus speeding the parting guest, the most savage 
bird Is quite harmless; he dismisses you from 
his thoughts, and walks quietly back, feeding as 
he goes. And in the distance you see the head and 
long neck of his neighbor, whose kingdom you 
have now entered, and whose sharp eyes spied you 
out the instant your foot crossed his frontier. He 
now advances toward you with jerky, spasmodic 
movements, as if he were bowing you a welcome ; 
this, however, is far from his thoughts, and, after 
sitting down once or twice to give you his chal¬ 
lenge—whereby he hopes you will be intimidated— 
he trots up defiantly, and the tackey's services are 
again required. 
“Thus, during a morning’s walk through the 
camps, you may be escorted in succession by 
four or five vicious birds, all determined to 
have your life if possible, yet held completely 
in check by a few mimosa thorns. When an ostrich 
challenges, he sits down, and, flapping each broad wing 
alternately, inflates his neck and throws his head back, 
rolling it from side to side, and with each roll strik¬ 
ing the back of his head against his bony body with so 
sharp and resounding a blow that a severe headache seems 
likely to be the result. A person on horseback is even 
more obnoxious to the ostriches than a pedestrian. The 
creature, when preparing for an attack, draws itself up, 
stands on tiptoe, stretches its neck to the full extent, and 
really seems to gain several feet in height. The birds are 
very uncertain in their affections, and take sudden and 
unaccountable dislikes; and they are sometimes so vicious 
that the herdsmen have to kill them in self-defense—and 
as this usually happens with the finest ostriches, with 
considerable loss to the proprietor. Mrs. Martin had an 
opportunity of witnessing from her window the regularity 
with which a pair of birds, sitting alternately on the eggs, 
came on and off at their fixed times. ‘ The cock always 
takes his place upon the nest at sundown, and sits through 
the night—his dark plumage making him much less con¬ 
spicuous than the light colored hen; with his superior 
strength and courage, too, he is a better defender of the 
nest against midnight marauders. At nine in the morn¬ 
ing, with unfailing punctuality, the hen comes to relieve 
him and take up her position for the day. At the end of 
six weeks of sitting, both birds, faithfully as the task has 
been shared between them, are in a very enfeebled state, 
GROUP OF THIRTY OSTRICHES IN HOT WIND. Fig. 260. 
