The Florida agriculturist., 1884-07-30
Ostrich Farming.

The Florida enterprises, saws a cor
respondent OF the Augusta Chronicle,
(which we have considered heretofore,
have been for the most part successes,
but | have now to record one of the
most dismal failures that has ever come
under my observation
Six months ago the news went aboard
that an ostrich farm had been successfully
inaugurated at Sylvan Lake, near this
place, thus unfolding still another grand
possibility in the ever widening vista of
Florida's future. The Chronicle cor
respondent gave a vary graphic account
OF her long ride from Sanford to Sylvan
Lake, the location of the ostrich farm.
before reaching Sanford the number
of birds had dwindled to three, on reach
ing the farm itself the whole thing mar
rowed down to one solitary bird stalking
disconsolately up and down the narrow
enclosure where he was confined. There
was box OF food in one corner, at which
he would stop and peck impatientlv,
whenever he reached it in his weary
rounds, and hut near by bore signs OF
occupancy, but the door was locked and
not living thing was to be seen save
that lonely bird of the desert s~siHIIlg
back and forth ujDs;1r fCs narrow bounds.
| do ssoc tnnk | have ever in my life
before looked upon scene of such utter
loneliness and desolation. The dreary
saw-grass swamp in the foreground, the
deserted cabin, the melancholy pines all
around, moaning their eternal requiem
over our heads, and the only sigh OF life
amid it all, this strange, Wild creature oi..
In. q lcstlike g1ove the scrub, through
(which it paced its lonely sentry, made
a picture of dreary solitude that / shall
never forget.
The bird was a large one, full nine
feet high, and though the enclosure in
! which he was confined, small
triangular space of not more than
quarter of an acre, was surrounded with
nothing more than an ordinary fence,
not higher than my shoulder, it seems to
confine him as effectually as an iron
cage. He made no attempt to step over
it, though he looked as ii he might have
easily done so, and l could not help
feeling some misgivings as he approached
the spot where | stood at respectful
distance from the fence, for these birds
are often very dangerous. They kick
with the strength of horse, and when
their enemy is down, tear at his entrails
with their powerful claws. Hunting
them in the East is a dangerous sport,
at which men often lose their lives.
"Some vigorous hallooing from the
driver at last brought upon the scene
son of Mr.. Jones, a lad some ten or
twelve years old, who had been left in
charge of the place during the absence OF
his father on journay to Lake Eustis.
The boy was very reluctant to talk about
the ostrich experiment, and had evident
" been trained to silence by his father,
who, l afterward learned from the
neighbors, is extremely sensitive about
the failure Of his scheme and can never
| be got to talk about it. The reluctance
with which men allude to their mistakes
and failures is in striking contrast to
the volubility with which they speak OF
their success, and yet the man who fails
may be as great benefactor to his race
as he who succeeds, if the race would
but acknowledge it. The one is beacon
that shows where the land lies, the other
buoy that warns where the sunken
rocks are hid. 1t is only by dint of re-
peated failures that some of the grandest
successes in science and art have been
made possible, and Mr.. Jones's mis-
fortune may prove the stepping-stone to
some other mans success. All this how
ever, is poor consolation for Mr.. Jones,
to whom the failure of his scheme must
have brought sore disappointment as
well as severe pecuniary loss. learned
from people living in the neighborhood
that he had originally imported six birds,
for which he paid an average price of
81 200 apiece, or total of ~ 200, besides
the expense of food and transportation,
which must bring the aggregate up to
not less than $4,000, for it costs as
much to feed an ostrich as to keep
horse. Not single egg was laid after
their arrival in this country, and one by
one the birds have sickened and died till
but a solitary survivor remains, like
ghost that will not be laid, to remind
the unfortunate man of his failure