New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-09-06
OUTDOOR BOOKS.
FARMING IN AFRICA AND AMERICA.

"A plQnant VOLUME winch Cnafme uc Ny ioo ea"N~
and humor while il adds substantially to our
knowledge Of far country is q thing to be gratc-
full for and one which is not found every day
Such book is Mrs. Martins story of life in South
Africa. The details which she gives Of the work
of an ostricb-farm are new and amusing ana de-
cidedly worth knowing; and she has selected
and set them forth with freshness Of enjoyment
which irfesistibly animates and entertains the
reader.
We have found nowhere else such close ana
vivid study Of the ways Of the ostrich, surely tne
most absurd, unreasonable and unranageape Oh
birds One of the worries Of the ostrich'farmer
lies in the idiotic timdity Of his charges; the o.
trichs heart is always in his mouth, be Is as ner-
vous as a fanciful woman and is always READY 10
run away and very likely break his legs In the
process. Sometimes when frightened ne runs SO
far that he is never again heard OF. MIS- Maruh
mentions one bird which thus entirely disappeared
at railway speed, mischievous boy having TED
newspaper TO its tail. Another quality winch also
entails loss upon the farmer is the creatures
vciousness. The finest and most promising birds
are the most savage and not seldom have to be
killed in selfdefence by their keepers. only one
thing turns q savage bird into suppliant; If he
finds ycu between himself and his nest he squats
at your feet in dismay and appeal. If you don't
happen TO have q tackey," however, then you
must stay until somebody comes to relieve you,
for Master Ostrich is ready to charge as soon as
you move out of line. One stroke OF It's powerful
leg will kill and 1t is only held in subJeclon
by the tackey,' which is q stout branch OF mi
mosa with the thorns left one end. Waiting
until the birds to close quarters the bearer
of the tackey thrusts it into his face The thorns
force him to shut his eyes, and as he runs blndly
forward his visitor springs aside. By the time
l. A. o1va thor
charge his antagonist is at some distance with the
taokey again in position. Only one bird at time
holds an interview with you, for in all large os-
trich-camps each father of a family las his own
domain fenced of by invisible lines known only to
his kinda domain on which no other ostrich save
the two hens of his household dares to enter
and from which no human intruder escapes un.
scathed if he have no tackey AS the ostrich
farmer walks over his estate he thus undergoes
a succession Of challenges from number of
vicious birds all determined TO have his life if pos
sibe, but all afraid Of the thorns on the tackey.
Mrs. Martin thus describes their preparation for
battle: "When an ostrich challenges he sits
down; and tapping each broad wing alternately.
initiates his neck, and throws his head back, rolling
it from side to side and with each roll striking
the back of his head against his bOny body with
so sharp and resounding blow that a severe head
to attack, it draws itself up, stands ON tip-tOe,
stretches its neck to the full extent and really
seems to gain several feet in height. Our author
observes that the new chum" in South Africa
who is inclined at first to look with contempt on
the precautions taken against savage ostriches
learns in time TO have proper respect for the in
nocentOolxing creatures, whose soft, dark-brown
eyes look at him so mildly twhen he is on the
right side of the fence that he finds it impossible
TO believe the stories told him of their wickedness,
and nothing but close acquaintance can undeceive
him.
On one of the farms a sturdy newcomer, six
feet in height, starting for an early morning walk,
was cautioned against going into certain camp
where the ostriches were dangerous. He laughei
at his friends advice, told them he was not afraid
Of dickey-bird" and disdaining the profered
tackey, started off straightway in the forbidden
direction. He did not return home to dinner;
search was made for him; and eventually he was
found, perched up on high lronstone boulder,
just out of reach of large ostrich which was doing
sentry, walking up and down and keeping vicious
eye him. There he had sat for hours, nearly
roasted alive (ironstone powders in the Karroo can
get hot in the SIN that it blisters your hand to
touch them, and there he would have had TO sit
till shutdown had not the timely appearance of his
friends relieved him of the too pressing attentions
of the "dickey-brd." Another gentleman had
theory that any creature however savage, could be
subdued-" quelled,' as he said-by the human
eye One day he tried TO quell one of his own Os.
tTches, with the result that he presently found
by t. in a verypitiable predcament, lying fiat
the ground, while the subject of his experiment
jumped up and down on him, occasionally varying
the treatment by sitting on him.
An odd phase of the ostrich's stupidity Is his
determination to die if the least accident befals
him. Naturally they live to great age, never
showing any signs of decrepitude, and their
feathers not deteriorating it is accident which
later, ends the career of nearly every os
trich. Z" If his hurt" says Mrs Martin, is not
sufficiently severe to kill him he will attain his
object by moping and refusing to eat-anyhow he
des-Often apparently for no other reason than be-
cause his MASTER against whom he has always had
grudge. wishes him to live. He seems TO die
out Of spite" The most dangerous and the most
common accident TO an ostrich is the breaking OF
its fragile legs-which though they can kill man
seem almost as brittle as porcelain and easily
splintered by slight blow The birds habit of
Waiting when il is in good spirits is very pro-
ductive of such accidents, and the Martins calcu-
lated that this amusement cost them eight or ten
per cent year. The feathers, to prevent their
tips being spoiled always cut before the quilts
are ripe, and these being left in the flesh two or
three months longer are pulled out without hurting
the bird. If the stumps are drawn before they are
ripe the succeeding suits of feathers are much in
ferior in quality. The plucking occurs once
wear; and then q South African homestead is
hardly anything more than a mass of feathers The
profits of ostrich-farmng have of late years, much
decreased, the supply having become greater than
the demand. AT one time even $4,000 was paid
for good pair of brds-now they will not sell
for more than $50. The price of the feathers in
European and American shops does not, however,
60 down.
in her charming chapter on the climate of the
Karroo Mrs. Martin asserts that this is the place
of all others for nvalids suffering from chest COM
plants. Consumption, asthma and other diseases
are readily cured in that intensely dry, hot region
but it appears that TO make the cure permanent
the patient must continue 10 live there
So far as food goes, the KarrOo leaves
much 10 he desired; the rarity of rain
means scarcity of vegetables, fruit, butter,
and eggs; and merino mutton and Angora goat
are always unchangingly the chief items of ones
bill of fare.
A large part of this sparkling book is given up
10 its authors queer pets. Their tricks and their