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nature of its surroundings. Experience has abundantly proved that its 
nutritive condition has a great influence upon the quality of the feather 
produced during the particular period. Many a crop of feathers is almost 
worthless or greatly depreciated in value as a result of the bird being in an 
enfeebled condition during the time of growth. Experience has further 
shown that the quality of the feather produced by any individual ostrich 
is largely dependent upon the condition of health of the bird at the time 
the new feather actually commences its growth, that is, at and shortly 
after quilling. It would seem that the character of the feather which will 
be produced is determined from its earliest stage, and is scarcely or not at 
all improved by any later improved condition of the bird. A bird which 
under good physiological conditions would produce a valuable feather may 
yield an inferior plume if in a weak condition at the commencement of the 
growth of the feather. Further, if a bird be quilled while in feeble health 
or suffering from insufficient food the new growth rarely appears evenly ; 
‘scme of the sockets will remain blank for a longer or a shorter period, and 
the feathers which ultimately appear will usually be smaller and more 
defective than would be expected. Very cold weather at the time of quill- 
ing is also likelv to result in a number of blanks, and birds have been al- 
most ruined by what seems to be a chilling of the exposed open socket. 
The influence of the nutritive condition on the young growth is now 
‘so well recognised that few farmers quill their birds at a time when they 
are reduced from drought or other troubles. To do this would be disas- 
trous to the new crop. In this lowered physiological state it is found that 
if the quills are not drawn the new growth will remain in abeyance and 
thus the farmer can delay the operation until more favourable times. 
‘Often during a prolonged drought the quills are allowed to remain for 
months beyond their natural period of ripeness, to be drawn when the veld 
-again becomes green. Were the quills to be drawn during the drought the 
new crop would be much inferior in character. Also birds afflicted with 
wire-worm rapidly become enfeebled, and were the quills to be drawn be- 
fore recovery the subsequent feathers would probably be defective. 
So important is it for the birds to be in a healthy vigorous condition 
when the new growth commences after quilling that many ostrich farmers 
now follow the plan of allowing the birds to become somewhat reduced for 
-one or two months previous to clipping, and then to put them under the 
most favourable circumstances, say from a week or two before quilling. 
It is difficult under highly artificial conditions to keep an ostrich in its 
‘best condition for a prolonged period, hence it is advisable to concentrate 
one’s efforts in this direction to the most critical time of the new feather 
growth. Feathers are much more lkely to show bars during the early 
period of their growth, and if they can be given a good start for three or 
‘four months they will probably go along successfully for the rest of the 
six months. 
When the feathers are growing normally it is found that a reduction 
of the nutritive state, from whatever cause, will in extreme cases result in 
a total suspension of the feather development. The partly grown feather 
-comes to an end, there is an interval without barbs and barbules, and then 
upon the restoration of better conditions the growth is renewed. The new 
growth, however, represents an entirely new feather, not a completion of 
the original feather. 
We may thus conclude that it is of the highest importance for the best 
feather production that a farmer should quill his birds only when the 
latter are in a highly nourished condition owing to an abundant supply of 
food, and that he should maintain them in this state for at least three or 
four months afterwards. The carly stages are the most critical in the his- 
tory of the feather. 
