The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-03-19
OSTRICH FARMING.
Pointers for Persons who Wish to En-
gage in Profitable Business


f. Atterton in AHdheint Gazette.
What return do birds give on the CAPT
| tai investedt This would be the first ques-
| tion asked by any one thinking of going in
for farming. IL is a question very few,
even of those who have been at il for some
| years, could answer, and of which the pub
lie here have as yet but little idea. Judg-
| ing from experience had with birds here the
last twelve months it is my opinion that this
| industry will assume immense proportions
in very few years and outrival that OF
South Africa. The French have made
great efforts TO introduce ostrich farm
| ing in Algiers, but il does not seem
to have taken much root there. Birds
are also TO a small degree, kept in a tame
| state in Egypt. The North African ostrich
IS considered to give a more valuable
feather than the South African, it being
| longer in the fluff A few years ago two
pairs of birds were imported at Port Eliza
beth, South Africa, from Barbary. Here is
an opening for some speculator to import
some here. The Melbourne AcclimatiZation
| Society imported some into Australia some
fifteen years ago, but they have only
| slightly increa> ed, and the experiment as
yet can hardly be considered success A
| few other small lots have aslo been intro
! duced into some of the other Australian
| colonies. A shipment of over 100 birds
took place from Cape Town to Buenos Avres
in 1880, but most of them died on the
voyage
Before endeavoring to show the profits
derivdbe from birds it would be well to
state for the benefit of the lncredulous tn t
| have no birds of my own for sale, nos.
have any interest in the far ! am work
| ing-receiving simply monthly stipend
To the point: Say man buys ten young
birds Z months old, at which age they have
| just given their first crop of feathers which
are of little value. H pays $500 apiece for
them and keeps them in a paddock, say an
acre in extent, for three years. Two acres
OF alfalfa will keep these birds year, reck-
| oning ten tons per acre. During the rainy
season, when the alfalfa does not grow, they
can be supplied with alheria which is Just
as good. When the birds become accus.
| toned to the farm they AN be allowed tne
| run of his orchard or vineyard, if he has
any, after the fruit is gathered, for they
will keep down the weeds and do but little
damage TO the vines or trees. No grain
| need be given them when they get sufIi-
cheney of green fodder. His returns will
| be about as follows. reckoning three pluck
! ings in the three years:
One hundred and fifty prime feathers. one
and three-fourths secondary and tail feath-
ers, altogether three pounds in weight from
! each bird, the value of which will be-:
| $50 primes, at 81 each ............. Si50 90
ia pounds seconds and tail at $50 per
| pound ......-..... ..................... SC 80
tal..-........-. .... 80. .......... S231 20
or $231 80 from each bird, multiplied by
ten, gives S., 375 from his birds for that ne
riod. His outlay will be:
10 birds, at 500 each ...................Se 900
- acres land, at 500 experimentation. 800
Cost of paddock $50, and time in feeding
81, 90 ,.o g. . - q 10y
interest on 81, 400 Tor years at per cent. 6l0
Expenditure s., $50
Returns. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 1913
Balance. Observation-Disclosures. $685.
!
*sandy land at s. per acre is just as good for