Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1881-08-20

| VII SuIOdy ldSG I'LL APPEAL TepjFtol
payed visit to Theodore Clancy.
ranch, about five miles southwest O
the Bismarck Range near the old Bodie
route, where he had understood was an
extensive ostrich farm. The ranch
owned by Mr.. Clancy covers about
sixty acres of ground well irrigated by
springs some quarter of mile distant,
which runs about five thousand gallons
daily.
MR.. CLANCY
welcomed the reporter with the hospi-
table cutting of a watermelon, which
after the long ride Was particularly pal
atable. Mr.. Clancy is practical
farmer from Ohio who came to this
country about seven years ago and is
now farming by practical and scientific
methods. He has the best facilities
and machinery and pronounces the soil
of Nevada equal to any in the world
with proper irrigation. He began to
raise ostriches four years ago but never
met with much success until this year,
owing to an imperfect knowledge of
the habits of the bird and the food nec-
essary for its sustenance.
THE OsTRrCHs
were confined in a let of about five
acres surrounded by rather high
fence. There were thirteen birds in all
which had only been raised after an
infinite deal of trouble. Said Mr..
Glancey:
81 first got four eggs of New York
firm through Capt. Mullett, believing
that they could be Matched out arti-
ficially or by the heat of the sun. The
encyclopedias assert that the eggs will
hatch by the heat of the sun, but it is IA
mistake, as ] discovered after wasting
time. now find that the
female matches the eggs just as hen
would by the heat of the body, never
them to the rays Of the sun at
all. l finally got pair Of ostriches
from the East, paying $3.50 for them.
My wife used to laugh at me for my
but finally they had nest
Of eight eggs and five Matched all right.
This was late in the fall and the young
birds seemed to be doing we'll, when a
frost came and next morning they were
all stiff and cold. The old birds seemed
to stand it better and put them in
winter quarters, building u shed with
double board walls filled in with straw.
In the spring they came out all right
and laid ten more eggs.
THE NEST.
The first brood WAS Matched in a
straw nest, but noticed they tried to
make a nest in the sand SO filled Il
box with sand about seven feet square
and sc0oped out hole in it for them to
lay in. The female took to it at once
and laid her eggs. The sand box was
in shed the top of which Was left
open in the day time and covered at
night. The eggs We're all laid end up.
This time all Matched out, and rs they
had all summer to thrive in, did well
AN OLD THEORY SHATTERED.
"Of course they can be fed on any
thing," said the interviewer; sold nails,
glass bottles and grindstones."
eThat's all humbug," said Mr..
"they like corn, wheat, po-
:atoes, bran, and in fact about such
,ruck as chickens eat never saw the |
birds feeding ON nails and broken glass
n even shoe leather. They will eat |
agebrush and weeds of all descriptions,
md in f,ct l think they would get along
IN less good food than almost anything,
tut when you give them grain and po-
atoes they thrive better They take
,indly to pumpkins and squashes, but
always notice that they pick out the
ipest and softest."
AS A BEAST OF BURDEN.
81 think ostriches can be raised in
Nevada and utilized instead of horses
D carry provisions. can put two hum
red pounds ON full grown bird and it
vill travel all day with out seeming to