St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1884-08-30
GIGANTIC BIRDS

GIGANTIC BIRDS
Eggs s3eo Aplece-Rail. SIX Feet High
-RaEles Capable of Carrying Four Or
Five Men-A0w the Dinorn!s Became
Extinct-Pr0fessor Booth's Theory.
The Museum of Natural History,
Central Park, has been offered an egg
that if sold by the dozen would bring
5000. the individual one being valuei
at $500. Its size is little over foot
in length. its holding capacity two
gallons, and in round numbers it equals
one hundred and fifty hens eggs: its
lineal measurement is double that OF
the ostrich's egg, and its cubic bulk
eight times greater. The monster egg
comes from Madagascar, and the
museum now possesses an admirable
cast showing its dimensions.
The first discovery of these interest
ing relics of past time was made by
the Captain of merchant vessel, who
stopped at port on the southern part
of the island to trade with the natives.
During his stay there the curious vases
the natives used to carry water and food
in attracted his attention, and upon in
vestigation he found that they were
eggs cut in halves, and upon being
questioned, the natives informed him
that they obtained them from the great
sand banks some distance away IN the
UP country. An effort to purchase
some soon resulted in the discovery OF
others that fell into the hands of the
naturalist, Isidore G. st. Hilaire, who
succeeded also in finding the bones of
the bird, which he named Epinornis, or
tail bird.
Since then QS50), the remains of
three or four distinct species of these
monsters have been unearthed in the
sand-banks of the southern portion of
the island. skull, parts of the ver-
tebra. tibia sixty four centimetres
long, being the principal tinds-quite
enough to establish its colossal stature.
Some writers aver that traditions of this
giant gave rise to the tales of the roc
so intimately associated with the haps
and mishaps of the unlucky Sindbad.
When the bird was first discovered,
and its egg found to be eight times the
capacity of that of the ostrich, it was
assumed to be sixteen feet in height,
which would make it as tall as a giraffe
and much larger; but the apterix.
though a bird hardly larger than a
guinea hen, lay eggs AS large IS \
swans. Some of the mound d-building
birds lay eggs that seem dispropor-
toned to theirsize, SO it was assumed that
the Epinornis need not have been larger
than the ostrich. On the other hand, it
is well known that very large birds
OFTEN lay small eggs, as the cuckoo. a
bird as large as a small hawk. that lays
an egg about the size of that of the
blackbird. So it will be seen that as a
rule the size of a bird cannot be told
from its egg.
The bones found, however, justify
naturalists in considering the Epinornis
a giant. Ward gives it as twelve'ieet;
others thirteen or more; not so remark
able when we consider that in the
earlier geological times all life seemed
to have reached a maximum of size.
Not only were the birds large, but the
mammals were gigantic also. The
Diprotodon Australis was Pleistocene
kangaroo as large as the living rhinoc'
eros. The Swatherium was Pachy.
dermoid antelope, also as large as a
rhinoceros. The Glyptodon, a Pleis
tocene armadillo, eleven feet long,
weighing over 1000 pounds. The
Megatherium was sloth eighteen fee
in length. The tigers of the tertiary
time. represented by the Machairodus
had upper canine teeth three times the
length of those of the living forms. Ir
earlier times were Crinoids Pentacri
nus subangularis) with stalks over fifty
feet long; huge crabs and gigantic fishe'
that heralded later and more insignifi
cant forms.
With such an array of stupendou.
creatures, we are not surprised to fine
birds of such colossal stature. Franc.
has produced one of the largest ant
most remarkable of these forms ye
made known to science. NJ. Castor
Plante, in some excavations in a claye,
stratum known as the Meudon ossifer
Gus conglomerate, made the first dis
covery Of tibia, which. though some
what broken, measured forty FIVE cen
timetres, and from its resemblance t.
that of the swan, differing from it onl,
in the presence of sub trochean foss;
and in the relatively high situation o
the osseous arch and external mus
cular attachment, it was presumed tina
the bird was gigantic ally Of thes
birds. Since Plante' discovery anothe
pastornis has been discovered in for
nation corresponding to the Meudol
conglomerate. A large part of tn
skeleton was secured, and when mount
ed and the missing parts carefully re