4 
which have received proper attention, and if present in any number they 
seriously depreciate the value of a clipping. 
It is generally understood that such odd inferior feathers come from 
sockets which have been badly treated, usually by having previous feathers 
trampled out before: ripeness, or by having the quills drawn while yet 
very green. The copious hemorrhage produced by drawing a quill while 
still full of blood seems to interfere with the supply of blood to the sub- 
sequent feather, and a small inferior plume is the result. In the early 
days of ostrich farming it was not unusual to pluck the feathers long 
before the quill was ripe, but it was soon found that the subsequent crops 
rapidly deteriorated, becoming short and stalky. The practice is now 
rarely followed, though recently one prominent ostrich farmer reports 
having got two crops of feathers, spadonas and first-after-chicks, from 
chicks only just twelve months old. ~* 
The question has been asked whether these sockets producing odd 
inferior feathers in one crop ever recover or regain their original power to 
produce a full-size feather in a later crop. Different opinions have been 
expressed thereon. Some farmers assert that the sockets do recover their 
original vigour, while others are very doubtful. Those who hold the for- 
mer view do not hesitate to pluck a half-grown feather out of time in order 
to start the next crop evenly, knowing full well that the next feather from 
the particular socket will be inferior. They consider that the socket re- 
covers in the second crop, and a full feather appears. 
An experiment now in progress will throw some light upon the pro- 
blem. A hen was received some time ago which had apparently been 
badly treated; some of the feminas were moderately good, but mixed with 
them were others very short and stalky, and altogether inferior to those 
which the bird was capable of producing. The plumes have since been 
clipped, and later the quills were drawn all at the same time, and all fully 
ripe. The bird is now in excellent condition, and it is proposed to watch 
her closely to see whether all the feathers of the next crop will be of uni- 
form quality, or whether some will be good and others inferior, as in the 
last clipping. No doubt, many farmers have had experiences similar to 
the above, and it is very desirable that they should be placed on record. 
3 How FAR 18 THE CHARACTER OF THE ADULT FEATHER DETERMINED BY 
THAT OF THE EARLY CLIPPINGS. 
This question is very closely associated with the last. All agree 
that the characteristics of an adult ostrich, as of animals generally, are 
determined to a large degree by the treatment which the animal receives 
during its youthful growing period. An animal which has been insuffi- 
ciently fed and badly treated while young, rarely attains the splendid form 
of one which has been well fed and properly treated during its growing 
period. The foundation of an animal is laid down while young, and this 
largely determines what it will ultimately become; later efforts are not 
likely to develop superior qualities if the youthful growth has been 
stunted. 
Similarly with feathers. There is every reason for holding that the 
character of the feather which a bird will continue to produce is mainly 
determined by that of the first two or three crops. If the growth of the 
feather is stunted throughout these early crops, it 1s not probable that 
recovery will take place, however excellent may be the later treatment. 
After the third crop, the bird may be considered to have attained matur- 
ity, and its feather germs have got into the habit, as it were, of producing 
a certain size and quality of plume, and no amount of superior treatment 
will readily modify this fixity. 
