Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-10-30

suoosssfui Attempt to Introduce ostrich Esrr
Ing Ia California.

L BDS
suoos-siui Attempt to Introduo. ostrich Farm
| Ing Ia California.
| Within six miles oi i,ns Angeles Cal, OF
| what Ii known ~ the OLD Temple street road
| DIR. 4. j. Sketchley has started An Ostrich
farm. lie was one oi the pioneers In Ostrich
| farming in Africa, whore he engaged in the
business for many years, and is the autho,
| OF a number Of books on the ostrich, aud the
best methods Of ostrich farming. A visit tc
Los Angeles convinced the doctor that ostrich
| farming could he successfully carried on
| there, aud ho resolved TO make the expert.
| ment- The result is the Sketchley ostrich
| farm.
| On tho sixty acres of land devoted to the q
tr!ches there are thirty pairs OF these beautl.
iul birds, besides u number OF young one
recently hatChed.
Their food consists almost wholly OF corn
| and alfalfa, which is a beautiful plant OF the
l,uzerne family. Long experience has shown
that This bill OF fare Will cause the ostrich to
produce more feathers and OF a better quality
than any other diet Each male is mated,
and the two birds have two acres of ground.
The land is fenced oil into lots OF one acre
each. Tho two birds are kept IN one of these
lots until thoy have eaten oil all the alfalfa,
when they are tran s'erred to the other, being
thus alternated between the two. From the
observatory tower in the centre OF the doc
tor $ residence the ostrich grounds look like
an immense chess board and the gigantic
birds like the big pieces scattered over It,
4" All tho iull-grown ostrichos you see,
said the doctor, " imported directly from
Africa, landing them in this country at Gal
weston, and bringing with them four Madra-
sese men and one woman, the people OF that
tribe beiug more familiar with the ostrich
than any native Africans. Thus far my OK.
pertinent has succeeded beyond my eNPecta-
tons Not only are the ustriches quite a.
healthy as in Africa, but they are actually
more prolific here than IN their native COun-
try, both in the number OF eggs they lay ard
the number of young ones they hatch, and
also In the quantity of feathers they produce
results due, believe, to this glorious eli
mate, which seems greatly TO increase the
fertility Of all animals. The feathers are
fully equal In all respects TO any grown In
Africa.
" The height OF the birds ~ from to 10
feet. Their weight varies from 800 To 100
pounds. The male il much tho larger, and
is black, while the female is gray. Whore,
then, you Will ask, do white ostrich feathers
come from ? They are found on both the
male and female bird among the loose feath-
ers oi the wings and tall. Ii is the fact that
they are 40 much rarer that makes them so
much moro desired, and, consequently, 80
much higher in price than black or gray
feathers, for in some respects i consider
them inferior to the other feathers.
" The female ostrich does not begin 10 lay
usss uhtl IL u ! Years uiu, hut ~ ptoduVos
ns @ ,''' Siop W Ieaahers at ,na em'' W Tvs hist
yn",. nte'y W seven nio,t,S tue,Sai'er , ns
Ptunso % Ieany ioi inai ne'' yv"nS a"oul
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