The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1885-10-07
&c sou1A AMga!oAN osrR!cA.
ynluo Of IIunAse-E,,lnE an Ostrich Egg
The PiD.ha as aFOod.

lPstaSonlA Letter IA EcW York Sln.l
Z At any Of tho trading posts in punta
Arenas you can buy for S or 40 q rug
that represents the breasts Of twelve
or fifteen young ostriehcs, and even
that low price gives the trader n proat
Of many hundred pOr cent, as a lew
drinks Of whisky makes tho Indian sus,
I CcptiJle to persuasion. II the 10 ern.
I tnGnt Of hill were TO sell the monoaoly
Of trading III ostrich skins aud leatheri
Z to q lew fair.mindGd men, the birds
I would multiply enormously, aud the
I beauty Of their plumagO 10 very much
increased Tho best plumcs are
worth 80 or $50 a pound In tho
market aud arc much improved
by the proper eRrp Of the bird. Those
that run Wild ha Q their feathers torn
by bushes and ruined by mud, and the
bolier The qualify Of food they resolve
tbs better tho plumes thoy produce
0Striches usually live 10 30 sG or more
yparsold Bgthey do not tAll prey 70
hiAtgg % liaIlfs Sdihg g0ninr Iona.
aud after they have reaBhed tho age: 81
or years they can 10 lnade to uTU.
duce u couple Of pounds Of plumes an.
nlally. The American ostrich is said
not TO DO SO good as that of Africa, hut
experts say that 1t Is only because the
latter bas been cultivated, while the
former has been permitted 10 ruu wild,
eating such food as ho can pick up on
the pampas, preyod upon ly pumas and
wolves, Nnd tearing his coat to tatters
BY plunging through the brush.
The propular SupposltiOn that an os.
trich never lays but onu egg and drops
that anywhere upon tho sand Is non.
sense Tho female lays us many oggs
annually as a goose or hon, and
cOyers them With as much care, usually
digging o hole in ito sand with her
feet and dGpo5itng her eggs in 1t daily
until tho time for incubation comes,
when she sits regularly upon them and
is fod by her mate, Very often eggs
are found singly upou the desert,
dropped in chase or when tho bird is
unable to reach her nest,
The egg Of the ostrich ia ogual in size
and nOurishmont to abolt two do en-
ordinary hens eggs, and sometimes
weighs three polnds. The flavor /,
wholesome, and an omolett0 made II
them could not 30 detected. One egg
makes good meal for half a dozen
hearty persons, and the Indians use
them very extensively. They are often
used BY tho residents Of Fulta Arenas,
and are sold to passing vessels for food
but there IS great RISK in purchasing the
eggs Of the ostrich, the shells being SO
dense as to prevent accurate judgment
as TO their merit, a dccaying hen egp
will not sink in water, because of the
gases inside the she'll, but no such fulo
eau be applied to tho eggs of tho
ostrich. They will sink in water whether
good or bud, and whom a bad one is
opened the odOr is sufficient to destroy
the peace Of the entire village. Many
q caAp on tho pampas has hcon rc.
moved a long distau,e because of the
indisgretiOn OF a cOolie WHO has broken
an egg instead Of tapping it with the tip
OF his hunting knife; and IL is said thai
the stencil Of very antique ono eau be
heard for several miles. When an cgl
is tapped and found to 10 rotten, tic
hole Is Immediately covered with q guit
Of tobacco, II the COOK happens to have
one in his mouth, otherwise ho claps OF
a chunk Of mud, and Immediately dig,
a holO in which the cause OF oilenso /,
buried.
Tho flesh Of the young ostrich Il
wholesome and palataJlt, having q
gamy layor, however, resembling that
Of tho wild turkey of tho North Amer
lean woods. The tongue and brains are
mich coveted by epivarcs, and used ia
bO SGT before tho potentates of ancient
times when they gave swell dinner par,
tios Tho breasts arc the best part OF
the body, and are roasted or brOied,
whio any portion makes an OScOllout
soup or stew. lio who happens Ia
tackle an old bird, however, ii he is in
a hungry and Quarrelsome mood, will
discover that there are other things
tougher than sole leather. The pmlos.
opAer who announced that the world
offered 10 Obstacles that human pa.
tience and ingenuity could not over.
come, mover attempted 10 satisfy hun,
ger by eating an ancient ostrich.