Savannah morning news., 1885-11-12
FOWLS OF GIGANTIC SIZE.
Precious Eggs aud RavenOus Appetites
The Enterprise to be Greatly Ia
tended
from the Ne'0 York Tribune.

|
Los ANGELES. CAL, Oct. 21.-"There is
no product required by civilization but
what can be supplied from California"
/ This was the remark | once heard an en-
/ thusiastc Forty-niner make; and as one
| studies the resources and capabilities Of
/ the State. such q broad statement is
/ found TO be nearer the truth than al first
/ sight appears possible. I'm their attempts
to realize the large profits now, which
! were matter Of course in the Argonautic
days, Californiane are developing some
! from an Fasteners point of Vew-start-
ling and bizarre industries. Particularly
/ ls this the case in the southern portion OK
! the State. Liverpool salt is quarried from
the Colorado Desert near Los Palmas :;
mills in the Moiabe Desert convert the
| stately Yucca into paper pulp; Cashmere
/ goats are seen pastuiing by SOuthd0wn
sheep; alfalfa fed trotters and thorough
| breds from Sunny Slope and Santa Anita
are proving themselves formidable rivals
OF Blue-Grass bred hOrsetlesn; san Diego
and Los Angeles 8balOne dealers supply
Paris butt0nmakers with a large part Of
/ their material; silk industries are deYel-
/ Oping, and tea. coffee, cotton aud rice only
need cheap labor TO become profitable.
/ Among the most novel, and apparently
/ profitable, of the newer pursuits is
y IL "
aQer of the principal farm in this cOun-
try, some few years ago was proprietor OF
a large and profitable one in South Afri-
I ca. During the TTausYaal war his
7 rancho was devastated by the Beers and
Lulus, and thinking that Southern Cali
l iornia might possess the necessary quaii-
fcations, he came to spy out the land. He
/ found everything satisfactory, organized
1 a stock company. went to the Cane, and
1t~frt aefal~
- birds, 10 males and y hens. Since
then he has raised 40 birds, which, con-
sidering the many difficulties he had 10
contend with at first, is satisfactory pro-
eress. His rancho is about q miles south
/ OF Los Angeles, near the village of Nor
| walk on spur of the Southern Pacific
railroad.
As the visitor reaches the entrance, two
sigu-bOards meet his gaze. The first rule,
each visitor will be charged SOC, - was
made necessary by the crowds that at
I first poured into this place. The other.
4 "All dogs found on the rancho viii be at
/ once destroyed" was Occ8siOned by the
/ fact that even the best bred dogs VIII
! suck eggs; and when rotten eggs sell for
81 each, and good ones are worth from $40
( to 500 each, the uudesirabllity Ct dogs is
apparent. The farm consists Of 200 0acres,
OF which so are sOwn to alfalfa, 80 are in
corn, and the remainder occupied by the
pens, corraIs, employees quarters, etc.
The first object Of interest is rather
large corral containing fl0ckof l6-mOnth
old birds. They stand about feet high,
and are quite timid. These birds were
| plucked three months ago. and their
/ plumage is abundant and glossy already.
My guide told me that only seven
months time was necessary for the new
/ plumage to mature in. and that these
''chicks" produced feathers at their last
| plucking over feet long, which beats the
record in Africa. Next come the pens
where the adult birds are kept. Each
pair is allowed a space of about 20 by 40
feet. The females are of a speckled
brOwnish color, and have a hOmely do
mestic appearance. The males. on the
contrary, are a brilliant, glossy black,
with one row of superb white feathers
friuging each wing and the tail. They are
rakish, gallant-looNng fellows, and can
comfortably stretch their necks over the
S-foOt fence which forms the rear of their
pens. A barrier in front of the pens
keeps visitors at a safe distance from
them, as these older birds are always dam
gerous. The superintendent told me that
he knew Of several men being killed and
three horses disemboWeled by them.
Their feet are armed each with two toes,
one of which is very long, and has at its
extremity an immense claw. Their mode
of attack is always by kicking, and as
they are known TO be able to maintain for
a long time a gait faster than that Of any
race horse, the muscular power of their
legs can be imagined. One of the keep
ers, to show me their ferocity, approached
quite near one Of the pens. Both birds
! Immediately assumed all the appearance
of intense rage. Each plume was erected,
the wings were halt extended and their
| eyes flashed, but their was not symptom
OF fear about them.
asked how the picking Of these big
| ones was managed.
| "Well, we catch their necks in a
I forked stick, draw leather stocking over
| their heads, and four or five of us grab
/ them. But it's no fun, | can tell you,
| for one square kick would send a fellow to
! kingdom come too quick. You hear mep
{ Strange to say. they make no attempt TO
! Jump over the fence, but when very much
| excited or enraged VIII brush away
! strong board fence with their breasts of
| bones, like so much paper. The only use
/ they make Of their alleged wings is TO
/ steer themselves around a corner or sharp
curve: during which operation they look
/ % u6h Ike a sail boat when il ''luffs."
- Up to recently patent incubatOrs were
used, but so unsatisfactory were they
/ that the birds are now permitted 10 in
/ crease and multiply in the orthodox man.
| ner. Each pair is eXTected 10 hatch three
! brOpds year, the hens averaging Is eggs
/ at d Setting, but sometimes running up to
/ as many as thirty. About six weeks is
/ the period Of incubation. | saw some
| "chicks" only week or so old, which
| were as large as prize turkeys; the par
! entb were most aifectlOnate and solioitOus
! in the care of the little ones, and regard
| ed US. even far off as we were, with evil
dent tdisapprobation.
The expense OF keeping these huge
creatures IS comparatively small, each
bird getting a daily ration Of 80 pounds Of
cut alfalfa. little corn. and unlimited
pebbles. An artesian well supplys them
with pure water, and they appear to have
made themselves at home, and apparently
have come TO California 10 stay. / could
obtain little Information as TO the profit OF
the undertaking. / have met one Of the
stockholders. and from him ] could get
no figures or statement beyond the fact
that the company has purchased another
rancho Of 300 acres iu Los Feliz rancho,
and will soon send Dr. Sketchly 10 the
Cane for a supply OF birds % stock il
with. which certainly appears as II the
prospect must be satisfactory. The outlay
OF capital must be considerable in the
first place, as since the first lot was ex-
ported the Cape government has imposed
an export duty OF $500 per bird. Add 30
this the prime cost. which varies from
500 uD to the thousands, and the freight
from tne Cape 10 New Orleans ard thence
TO Los Angeles, and the average cost per