The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-06-05
OsTRICHEs IN FLORIDA.
A Farm on the Indian River Gives
Every Promise of Success.

Every Promise of Success.
West Palm Beach correspondence Jack
sonvine Citizen: During a recent trip up
the east coast the Citizen correspondent
made a visit to the ostrich farm of Maj
II. J. Tifin, at Courtenay, Indian river
He purchased in Atlanta last fall fifteen
ostriches, seven females and eight males
and moved them to his Courtenay home.
The ostriches became acclimated with no
trouble. and are as happy and thrifty
colony of immigrants as one would wish
TO see Two of the birds are African, the
others were raised on a farm In Southern;
California. Since last spring the hens
have been laying. Mai. Tifhn has forty
eggs Matching; twenty-five of these are
in an incubator, the others are in three
separate nests set on by the birds, the fe-
males during the day and the males dur
ing the night. Forty-tWo days are re-
quired to hatch an ostrich egg. These
were set May l6. Maj. Tittin expects he
young to come from nests and the incuba-
tor at a bout the same time. The incu-
batOr used IS chicken incubator, adapt
ed to ostrich eggs. The incubator is heat
ed by a Kerosene lamp with thermOme ter
attachment An electric ball cOntriVance
warns Maj. Titfin In the house, some dis
lance away, when the heat rises above
given degree, so that il may be regulated
at once. A temperature Of 10 degrees viii
Kill the eggs. The packing around the
eggs in the incubator is mineral wool"
made from a mixture of Stag and other
rocks, forming a Vitreous substance, cOn-
verted to a tibrous condition. In appear
ance 1t consists of mass of very fine
iibers INTERVIEWING each other in every d.
rectiOn, forming an innumerable number
of tiny air cells. Each pair of birds has a
half-acre run, with plenty of dry SAND,
gravel and grain food. hose also sup
plies a little pool in each run, and STAN
with cool, fresh water. The gravel was
secured for the birds from Atlanta.
An ostrich begins laying when she is 5
years old, laying after that fifty eggs,
weighing thirty-four ounces each, year.
These eggs sell for so apiece. The profit
from the bird begins earlier than laying
time, however, az the feathers are mar
ketable early, and the manure Is an eX-
will never have to buy any more fertilizer
for his orange grove, or garden, so long
as he keeps his ostriches. He has already
gathered a large box, several hundred
perhaps of feathers of good quality, but
has not yet begun regular plucking The
bird has to be tied when the plucking
goes on, the feathers being removed with
pinchers to avoid tearing the flesh. If
such an accident happens, the aperture
Is never replaced with a feather. The
birds of Maj. Tiffin are we'll grown and
healthy, the body standing about five feet
The great neck makes the bird about eight
Maj. Tifin is very much encouraged
with his beginning, and does not hesitate
TO say he expects to succeed. When the
yo ing chicks shall have been Matched he
larging his premises as he has need.
Maj. Tiffin is said to be looking forward
to training one or two Of his great male
birds to draw his cart They are fire.
quently put to such use in Africa, and lat
terly in California. They are very strong.
and sometimes vicious, but a careful train
er knows how to handle them, and they
become, in time. much attached to their
keeper,