448 
THE LIVING WORLD. 
Occasionally in later years the ostrich is taken by means of nets, into 
which the birds are driven by dogs specially trained for that purpose. 
When the Arabians capture an ostrich , they cut its throat, and making a 
ligature below the opening, shake the bird thoroughly. After so doing the 
ligature is removed, when there pours from the wound a quantity of blood 
that is mixed with the fat, which is considered the most palatable of dainties. 
After feasting they flay the bird, using the skin for many useful purposes, 
such as making nets, cuirasses and bucklers. 
The inhabitants of Lybia breed ostriches extensively both for the feathers 
which they yield, in which there is a very great profit, and also, as is told, for 
riding animals. Several travellers tell us that the natives of South Africa 
break ostriches to the saddle and 
bridle, in which capacity it is af¬ 
firmed they are tractable and 
most serviceable. 
The Emeu ( Dromaius aus¬ 
tralis) is peculiar to the central 
plains of Australia, where in 
former years it was quite plenti¬ 
ful, but is now so seldom seen 
that we may expect it soon to be¬ 
come extinct. Specimens may be 
preserved, however, in aviaries, as 
it is easily domesticated and breeds 
in captivity. The emeu resembles 
the ostrich in many particulars ; 
enough, indeed, to give to it the 
relation of a half-brother. The 
head is very similar, except that 
the crown is covered with a tuft 
of coarse feathers; the neck, too, 
is not so bare as the ostrich’s. 
The most noticeable difference is 
found in the body covering, which 
in the emeu is of long, dark and 
hemp-like feathers, destitute of 
emeu {Dromaius). beauty or usefulness; the toes, too, 
are three in number, instead of 
two, as in the ostrich. Though the coarse feathers have no commercial value, 
the bird is hunted for its flesh, and for the oil that may be rendered out of 
its fat, which commands a high price. It is very swift of foot, but can 
be run down by horses and dogs without much difficulty. The dogs are 
trained to reserve the attack until the bird is thoroughly tired out, and then 
spring upon the throat in such manner as to escape the violent kicks which 
the emeu deals fiercely around, and which are sufficiently powerful to dis¬ 
able an assailant. The emeu does not kick forwards like the ostrich, but deliv¬ 
ers the blow sideways and backwards like a cow. 
The food of the emeu consists of grass and various fruits. Its voice is a 
curious hollow, booming or drumming kind of note, produced by the peculiar 
