38 THE NATURAL HISTORY - 
“Tt has been faid, that theit affe@ion for their | 
_ eggs was fo great,.that one method of taking them. 
_ was to plant ftakes, fharpened at the point, at a. 
proper height from the ground near the neft; 
and that the Oftrich, in ‘its hatte to return to ee 
oe eggs,. would Teen entangle among | 
7 
them. 
Kolben fays, that they fit upon their eggs like 
other birds, and that the cock and the hen take it’ — 
by turns.. 
Some Oftriches, that were kept in the mena-- 
but though fome were: expofed to the fun, and 
others kept warm by means of fire, n none of them: — 
produced any young ones. 
It is faid, that young Oftriches can run‘as- 
_foon as they are hatched, and take care of them-. 
~ felves; fo that in very hot climates, where their 
' food is in great plenty, . their parents leave them - 
fo foon as they leave the fhell: but at the Cape | 
of Good Hope, where the climate is lefs hot, the. 
mother continues her care over the young fo — 
as it is neceflary. 
gerie at Verfailles, in France, laid feveral eggs 5 
Ae 
The firft year young Oftriches are ao a pa 
ath colour, and entirely covered with feathers : Eee 
but thefe feathers do not long continue, and the 
head, the st part of the neck, and the fides 
— under 
Ree 
