The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1875-01-13
MISCELLANY.
OSTHICHEs md THEIR EEiTHERs.

OSTKICHES and THEIR FEiTHERS.
There is scarcely an article in the list of
toilette accessories more highly appreciated
and yet so little understood in the manage
ment Which brings them TO Perfection, as
! ostrich feathers. H&
Among allnatious, whether civilized or I'M
civilized, wherever known they are used and
priced for their ornamental effect and yet no
one accustomed to notice their beauty and
elegance, when inreadiness for the head-dress
can fail of intense disappointment and per-
haps sense of ridicule, upon first sight of
the awkward, ungainly fowl from Which they
are pucked. As the silk worm is one of the
most Insignificant of reptiles, and the sheep
and the camel among the siliest of animals,
the ostrich, fleeing at the sight Of man and hid
] ing its headin the sand, in the foolish thought
that in so doing it may escape pursuit. is,
perhaps, the sillest ofthes fcathercd creation
not even excepting the goose, Strange and
l,umiliating mans Indebtedness to creatures
so despised. e
The ostrith best known to us is native Of
Africa. though IN South America, species Of
all ulletlDf tHdldcbtI SALoto'
i 1t is the type of group of birds including
the eassewary, the emu, the kiwikiwi, and
others, belonging to the family Strath,.pada,
ard by Linnmus, the great Swedish naturalist.
is called the Stratttio eamelus, from its re-
semblance to the camel in height, aud fleet
ness and snrcuess Of foot--tlie camel or
dromedary. as is well known, being POLITICALLY
termed .. the ship of the desert"
Tie food Of the ostrich consists of fruits,
grain, lrgumnous vegetables, the leaves and
,en,ler shoots of trees and shrubs, insects,
snaiis, and, when III the vicinity Of the sea-
shore, mollpsks aud fish. The crop is said 90
be cnorinous, aud tile Isizzard vory powesful.
and with its food stones and other hard sub
stances are g,ecdily swallowed, doubtless 10
aid digestion. lf, ~ IS iislaisg,5
A fully grown bird stands from seven 10
eight feet ia height, and weighs from eighty
to one HUNDRED pounds. lWhen feeding, the
stride is from twenty to' twenty-five inches !;
when walking, but not feeding, about twenty
six inches and when pursued and frightened,
from eleven to fourteen feet.
Then taking twelve feet as the average
|
twenty-five miles an hour, tasking severely
the speed and endurance Of the fleetest horse
"When running at fall speed" says Dr.
Livingstone, lyon can no more see their legs
then the spokes Of a rapidly REVOLVING car
rage wheel, when theyIbegin TO RIM all the
game in sight follow tlieir example, and they
never swerye from the line Of direction first
A ~. y T. q q 8 s. & r 4
They rare sometimes run. down by fleet
horses, III relays, bnt are more generally exp
tured by stratagem-tbe Bushmen of the
countries native to the ostrich, disguisin.s
themselves, and by this artfce, getting near
enough to kill then.'
The finest feathers are from the full-groun,
wild living birds, Which are found on the
northern and western coasts of Africa, and
from the Levant but most generally we OBJ
tain the plunage of nurseries Of Hooks, of
birds farmed at, or about the Cape of Good
Hope.
The best and the hantlsomesti feathers are
from the male bird, and are always black on
white, or spotted, or notified OF black and
white. s~Aka 1&GMNh
The last are still called 'Me. baiocchi, y
after a coin of Italy Of value aboutsan English
penny, and because in oldent times the spotted
feathers was so little esteemed in Italy as to
, command only sbafoccAi value. From the fea-
male we get the grey feathers only, now well
! known IN fashionas the secru, OF feathers Of
natural color. To be perfect, the feathers
: must come from the fully grown bird yet
! when undressed they all have stiff quill, and
the flues of the pllmage are stiff and dragged
In this state, the first object is thoroughly te
cleanse hefeathers. If intended to be white,
they are washed in, boiling water, and Will
5 the assistance of certain acids are bleached te
the snowiness in which they are presented foi
purchase. They are then s+arched--thfee
pounds of the best starch in use for laundry
: purposes being required for the dressing of :
pound of feathers they are then carefully
steamed, SO as to bring the fiues evenly ant
perfectly and lastly, they are dainty curlet
with the blade Of the knife With the cxcep
ton Of the bleaching, the ecru, or feathers o
natural color, are subject to the same process
The black feathers are rarely ever of hui
sufficiently lively to be permitted to remain
in their native state, but must be dyed. Fo
dyeing black, black feathers have the bes
groundwork yet a feather of any natura
hue Of shade Can 10 dyed brilliant black