HHLPINQ- OUT A WEAK ONE, 
'COOLIE WITH YOUNG DlRUSh 
VOI.. XXXVII. No. 17. 
WHOLE No. 1474. 
NEW YORK CITY, APRIL 27, 1878, 
PRICE SIX CENTS. 
tti.SO PER YEAR. 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1878. by the Rural Publishing Company, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.] 
Inhstrial ®0jrirs, 
THE OSTRICH. 
Of the Bird Class in the Animal Kingdom the 
group whoBe members are the largest is that of 
the Cursores or Running birds, so oalled on 
account of their groat Bpeed of foot and total 
impotence of wing, and among these the largest 
surviving kind is the ostrich. As in the case of 
the other members of this sub-division of the 
clars, the legs of the ostrich are developed to an 
extraordinary degree ; the bones are long, stout, 
nearly as solid as those of a horse and almost 
entirely devoid of the air-cells which give 
lightness to the bones of flying birds. The 
wings are almost wanting externally, their 
bones although retaining the same number and 
form as those of other birds, being very small, 
as if suddenly checked iu their growth. As the 
ostrich docs not need the powerful wing mus¬ 
cles of flying birds, its breast is devoid of the 
projecting keel from which these spring, and is 
smooth and round. Its hight is from six to 
eight feet, the male being considerably larger 
than the female and of a blacker tint. In 
walking while feeding, its stride averages from 
20 to 22 inches, when not feeding it increases 
to 26 inches, and when running, terrified by 
pursuit, each stride measures from 11)^ to 14 
feet. When alarmed into flight, it often runs 
for the first half-mile nearly at the rate of a mile 
a minute, but its usual running gait is not much 
over 25 miles an hour. The lower parts of the 
neck and body of the male are a deep glossy 
black with a few white feathers interspersed ; 
the color of the female is ashen brown sprinkled 
with white, and in both, the tail and primary 
wing plumes arc white. These are the white 
plumes of commerce, while the secondary wing 
feathers are its long black fealhers. The os¬ 
trich’s voice is a deep, hollow, rumbling sound 
so like that of the lion that practiced ears have 
been deceived by it. The weight of an adult 
male is between 200 and 300 pounds and the 
birdB live from 20 to 30 years. The flesh of a 
young bird, though a trifle tough to Caucasian 
teeth, is highly relished by the Bushmen and 
other natives, but even to these the flesh of an 
adult ostrich is rank and tenacious. Most of 
full-grown birds become very fat. and this fat is 
highly prized. When melted it is of a bright 
orange color and, mixed with millet flour, it is a 
feast worthy of a Hottentot chief. 
The ostrich is chiefly found in the hot, 
sandy deserts of Africa where, living often for 
months without water, its food consists mostly 
of the wild melons that are scattered over the 
arid wastes, absorbing and retaining every par¬ 
ticle of the moisture condensed in the compar¬ 
atively cool nights and during the rare but 
hoavv showers that keep alive the scanty veg¬ 
etation. Grasses, grains and all forms of veg¬ 
etable life are alike welcome to its capacious 
appetite, and are ground by its powerful gizzard 
aided by the stones and other hard substances 
it gobbles down just as other birds swallow sand 
or small pebbles. It is gregarious in its habits, 
associating in large flocks and these are fre¬ 
quently found mixed with vast herds of qnaggas 
zebras, giraffes and antelopes. The male is 
polygamous, usually having a harem of from 
two to seven wives 
The nest is a mere depression in the Band 
and in it from 60 to 60 eggs are laid, while a 
number of supplementary ones are scattered 
outside around the margin to serve as food for 
the young brood when first hatched. The male 
and female take turns in sitting, the hen gen¬ 
erally sitting by day and the cock by night, al¬ 
though frequently while the sun is high the eggs 
are left entirely to its warm influence. It takes 
from six to eight weeks incubation to hatch out 
the chicks. 
An ostrich egg weighs about three pounds 
and has the oapacity of 24 average hen eggs. 
They are quite palatable and two oi them are 
frequently eaten by a little Basbman at a single 
meal. To dress an ostrich egg in the approved 
fashion : First get the egg; then set it upright 
THE INCUBATING ROOM. 
THE F FATHER ROOM. 
