Omaha daily bee., 1886-10-06
A FAMOUS FEATHER FARM.
0strich-Raising as 1t Is Carried lin South.
ern California.
The Industry Yet Small But Promis.
ing Much for the Method
of breeding and of Pluck
ing the Feathers.

Anahcim and is rather q barren looking
place except the home plot. A portable
cottage was sent out and set upon its
legs when the enterprise was first started,
and looks picturesque and cozy under its
pahcrita vine, whose pink pea blossoms
swing in the sea breeze. The four mon
in charge live here, aud with good cook
seem TO batch 1t very comfortably A
fine artosian we'll flows from n seven.
inch pipe. five feet above ground, and
supplies the place with purcst water. We
are first shown into the fcather.room,
where the plumcs lie in sorted piles, from
the poorest bits used for trimming to tho
long, graceful sweep, dear to the Rem
brandt heart but not at present partiou-
larly attractive, as they have to be sent
to the dyer, cleaner, and curlcr before
No sale of them is allowed on
the premises. After the bird
is fully grown crop of feathers develops
naturally once Il year, but three clippings
are generally made in two years by cut
ting every eight months, and drawing out
the quill stumps when dry Great eau
ton must be used in selecting the foath-
crs so rs not to draw blood, the fully ripe
ones coming out without pain to the bird,
which must be fed at intervals on green
food to prevent the quilts from twisting
Alfalfa and sometimes chopped cactus,
is used for this. South Africa supplies
the bulk of feathers. indeed they amount
in value to G1,0O0,0 600 sterling. Egypt
exports to the value only of about E25,.
600. and the Barbary states $50, 000 OF
| course the enterprise is too young i'll
| America as yet to be placed in competi-
ton with the old world, but there is every
| reason to anticipate Il fine future. A
nl1 fn hns ( N
| and still another nearer Los Angeles, but
the Ana lelm place takes the lead, Tho
| head man in charge farmed at the Cape,
before coming here. The colonial
government there has placed an
export duty of ESQ on each bird shipped
cost per bird landed in California from
| 1000 to S1,250 The female lays from
twenty-five to thirty eggs at a batch three
| times year, or from seventy TO ninety
in all, and will average ten to fifteen
chicks to Il brood. The mother is not a
good sitter though, and will generally
| give out in two weeks, while six isneeded
for incubation. The male, however,
with praiseworthy devotion, sits on the
| eggs at night and revcrses the order of
| things by allowing his wife to roam the
corral and sing she won't go home till
| morning"
AS rule the incubator is used, and
|
her offspring, which goes to show how
far art is ahead of nature. She keeps
| them in n comfortable warmth of 100
to 1870 degrees in the shade One little
fellow had Just kicked off his swaddling
clothes and was toddling around in a
rather tlpsy style when we got there,
and another had poked his funny, fool
ish head out of the shell and was evid-
emily cogitating as to whether it was
worth while to cross the ragged edge or
sink back and take another nap. They
are pretty when very young, with bright,
human looking eyes, and come into
the world in full feather of brownlsh
waItzing from the cradle, and
dart ahead, then take twirl, and pro-
ceeding few steps, repeat TIE evolution,
ducking their heads in a grotesque way,
and when covered for the night sing
themselves to sleep in serio- comic trIll.
They have an Unborn horror of dogs, and
if a sound is made resembling II bark
will dash headlong over incubators, into
bitches, and against deadwalls to escape,
consequently all dogs are prohibited
visitors. One young man of our party
was sitting on low inner fence with his
back to the birds, when something
startled them, and one, half-grown. flew
for him and cuddled down under his
coattails, to his extreme embarrassment
and our amusement. The ostrich is an
anomaly, n fond parent at one time, anu
again devouring its offspring, showing
an idiotc gentleness now, and again
kicking one of its little ones into kingdom
come. 1t will scan the horizon with the
wisdom of an astronomer, and tumble
| headlong into muckhole ut its feet. A
/ single wire will keep it in bounds ut
ordinary times, and a jackrabbit will
drive it into a spasm of terror. There is
nothing on earth like it, do believe,
| unless it may be a woman trying to cross
Kearny street Saturday afternoon.
Their way OF showing anger or fear Is
| peculiar. They squat on their launches
and stretch out their ungainly necks al
most level with the ground, and sway
them from side to side making strange
drumming sound somewhere in their
the uglicst things on record, and look all
| leg, ike an exaggerated ballet. The
latest thing in ornaments for ladies is the
small toe or spear of the ostrich, polished
and mounted in silver for clasp. When
first started there was but single fence
around the corral, and the visitors were
| allowed to hang over and make acquaint-
ances with the birds, who are extremely
friendly and inquisitive. They are con
| noisseurs in metal buttons yinalgrets
and even hairpins, and will not hesitate
| TO transfer one or more at Il gulp from
| your person to their cast iron
stomachs, with knowing wink of their
red eyes; bat it was game of give and
take, for in retaliation the visitor would
make grab, and many valuable plumes
| were lost in this way. Since then Il double
fence has been placed about the birds and
II fee of fifty cents eXacted from each
| visitor. On our return to the ranclh
| house we were treated to nm ostrich egg
lunch, one egg making three omeets and
n custard. We tried hard to imagine
them much better than everyday fare,
but doubt our knowing the difference
had we not watched the shaking of the
the meat out OF the shell, which was pre-
served rs n souvenir. Several had already
been polished and mounted as drinking
cups, and many souvenirs of the cape
made the place attractive. Altogether
we passed Il pleasant day, and left the
farm with regret when the sun was sink
! ing in the west
pOzzopi.
No name is better and more pleasantly
and widely known than that OF Mr. j.
! A pnyIput IHpr Wars ba. hoe ,,,oIa Ii.