Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1892-03-25

| Law a dav or so after the nest is dug.
and she laws one egg every other dav
| for about 90 davs. She then rests for
a short time and begins 10 Law again,
and she usually laws about 40 eggs.
shough prime layer will sometimes
reach as high a. 60 When the o>-
! trichps think that there are enough
eggs in the nest they begin 10 set.
! They take turns. and the male Is the
one who has 10 stay awake ut night
| while the female does her setting in
! the DAYTIME SomptiInpS one or the
other does not tend To business, and
this makes his partner very angry
aud he drives her on the nest. The
male a. a rule does most of the set
ting. and as this lasts about 45 days
! he has his share Of hard work. II l.
! his duty also 10 break the shell when
the ostrich chicks are ready TO hatch.
aud he knows that this il the case
when he hears them trying 10 pick
their way out. Sometimes they sue
ceed in doing this. but an ostrich egg
| j. about as thick as the pasteboard IN
the cover OF school book. and ii l.
very hard 10 break When the father
hears the chick trying 10 break it he
forces his breastbone down npon IL
and cracks il. and then tears out the
inside skiu and let's his baby ont. \
few hours after il is hatrh-d the little
ostrich gets on its long legs and tod
dies around. aud it begins TO eat
about four days after it is out OF the
shell
saw number OF these baby os.
trich-s in the Egyptian farm They
were in little pens by themselves, and
rome only day old had feathers OF
the downy nature Of n chicken just
Matched. Their bodies were the size
Of a full-grown hen. and they seemed
10 be- all eyes and neck. Their eyes
were az large AS thosr OF All American
baby. They were soft, dark brown,
almost chidlike in their loveliuess.
Their furlike fenthers were brown,
and they wadded about like so many
! little duckliugs These little ostriches
are very delicate aid they have 70 be-
carefully treated Tnry are fed lit
| tie grass cut fue, together with pieces
Of ostrich esGshell ground NJ after
they are four days old, and wh-n they
get 10 be- two weeks old some bran or
soaked corn is given them II Is very
Important that the chick be kept
warm. aud Egypt is all especially
good place for raising ostriches on
the account OF the dryness OF the air
and the fact that there is little or no
rain. An ostrich chicken increases
very rapidly in value, aud good lAy-
er will produce enough chickens TO
paw for herself many times over. The
ostriches set two or three times year.
aud pair OF good birds has produced
in flush times from $4,000 to $1,000
worth OF chicks per annum. The
chicks grow very fast. At a month
old they are as big as a turkey, aud
they are ready for picking Tor the
first time at the age OF nine months.
Their feathers AT this time are not
worth more than s. per bird, bu they
grow better and bigger "a the birds
grow older. and Il full-gTpwn ostricn
will produ e from So to 500 worth
of feathers per year. \ good bird
should produce 40 fine feathers every
picking, aud an ostrich cnicka month
old ough. to be worth $50 Full
grown ostriches often bring "a high
a. ST. 900 aud some birds have been
sold for g., 900 aud more.
The birds seem TO produce better
feathers a they grow older, and un-
der proper conditions they will liz"
longer than amsn. The hen ostrichrs
begin TO lay when they are four years
old and the males maturr al five. Ia
this Cairo farm found that ostrich-s
of the same az" We're hsrdrd together.
and one pen contained some great
birds. each OF which was over seven
feet in height When the keeper
capppd his hands at them there birds
spread ont their wings and ran across
the fields at the sped OF the fastest
trottiag horse. They seemed To swim
over the ground. and they were the
most b-autiful things | had ever seen
in Nature. They were very easily
frightened and they sermed sensitive
to our actions The keeper shook his
fist at two OF them and they opened
their bills aud snapped AT him like
angry dogs AS they did 80 their
nrcks. heads aud legs becan. a. red
a, blood aid ha told IN. they were
flushing through rage. He pointed
TO their bix-two-tOed hoofs aud told
me that a kick from one Ot them
would kill a horse or knock uan :
! head from his shoulders. This keeper
was All Egyptian in a tnrban and
long gown H. se-Ined to understand
all about the raising OF ostriche-, aud
he took me into the incubaii1g
rooms and showed me the processes
OF artificial hatching The ostrich"-
here are allO wed To -et Oh from l6 to
20 eggs a. tina aud a. tney producr
about 40 Eggs bAfDre setting the sur
plus goes 70 rhe iucubators. He told
me that they found less danger in
hatchimg ariiicially than naturally,
aud hp said rhat the eggs were taken
r.yularly from the nests every day.
ALWAYS leaving one for a n",t-egg. a.
we do with our chickens He showed
me a nnmb.r OF eggs They were a