The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1885-10-14
MONEY IN OSTRICH FARMS.
I'm Interesting California Indastry--Ilsw
the Woris Is Carried On.

the Work Is Carried On.
Hello what are You doing ~ was asked
yesterday Of an old Cincinnatian who was
on Change, but who for several years has
been resident of Lower California.
g Got new business Lots of money in
it. am running an ostrich farm and have
done so well that I'm thinking of importing
a couple of hundred more birds from Cape
/ Town"
! $ Where's the money ?"
=" Why, In the feathers, man. They re-
tail at several dollars apiece, and the de-
mand fer them is continually increasing and
will so long as women possess vanity"
How many feathers will an ostrich
yield ~ -
81 That depends. Some of them as much
as fifteen pounds at clipping others not
moro than three. The long, white plumes
that the ladies all over the world prize SC
highly grow ON the ends of the wings of the
males. good bird in his prime viii yield
from twenty TO forty OF these feathers, be-
sides few black feathers from the wings.
The tail feathers are not so valuable or beau
tifui. The hen yields fine plnmes from her
wing tips, but they are generally spotted
and hecked with gray and are called femi-
mines. Those which in the male bird are
black are gray with her."
" How many does it take TO make
pound ?" -
q From one hundred and twenty to one
hundred and thirty good long feathers &C
to the pound They are packed carefully
in cases with plenty of pepper and tobacco
30 as to prevent their injury by yermin and
MOTHS"
They are sorted, suppose p
Oh yes, according to their quality and
purity of color. The pure whites from the
wings are called bloods, the next quality
prime whites firsts, seconds and SO
ON. Bioods bring from $500 to $3.50
pound in the wholesale market and from
his figure feathers run down as low MS
ew dollars to the pound.n
q What are the birds worth ~
. A healthy bird week old is worth $50;
at three months. $75; at six months, $50.
You can begin to pluck the feathers when
the bird is year old and they will yield
about $35 worth apiece"
8 When do you pair them ?"
8 Not until they arc about Eve years old;
then each pssir yields from eighteen to
twenty-four eggs each season. These pairs
are kept in Enclosures by themselves because
the males are very jealous and they take
sudden fits and will fight ferociously. fire.
qnently tearing each others eyes ont, pull
ing out feathers and sometimes breaking
legs"
e. - Do they kick hard ?"
'sWhy blow from one of their legs has
been known to break mans leg, while the
claw, above m inch long. of the front toe
viii tear the flesh from head to foot The
wound from this is said to be very poison
pus.n
:. How about raising young ostriches ?"
"That's done by Matching the tsgs With
n incubator. The chicks thrive and do
we'll. Ostriches pair about the beginning
Of March and The female lays her eggs
toward the emil of April. Her nest is hol-
low basin { at she scrapes out of the sand.
She lays about two dozen eggs and arranges
them in the nest in the form of a triangle,
with the point in front of her. Some of the
eggs do not get Matched, and these she
breaks TO feed to the young ones that are
Matched for the first few weeks they ae out
of their shell. II takes six weeks TO hatch
the young birds and in three years. they
attain their full size. They live great deal
together, and II is not uncommon to see the
nests of a large family together, the grand
father and grandmother in The middle aud
the younger generations gathered round
about"
Z" What do you food these young ostriches
Matched out by the inoubators p
8 The principal food is lucerne aud this,
ties and tender herbs that grow in the coun.
try. Old birds will feed on matured shrubs
and plants. the leaves of which they will
strip off with their beaks. They are also
fed on Indian corn, Of which they are very
fond"
Are they vicious when breeding r.
:" Yes especially the male, which has
been known to attack and kill a man. They
are fearless animal at such times. When
the female leaves the nest the male sits upon
the eggs and while she is sitting he walks
about in a lordly manner in order that nc
harm may come. ~ Cincinnati Enquirer.