The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-02-02
AMERICAN 0STRICHES.
CHARACTERISTIC OF THE
STRANGE BIRDS.


So varied are the climatic conditions OF
our country that there seem to be few
members of the animal and vegetable
kingdoms. indigenous to foreign soils. that
cannot tind congenial home in some part
or its vast territory. Every year additions
are made to our fauna and fora, and many
OF the strangers seem TO thrive here quite
as well as on their native soils Califor-
MA, especially, has been the scene of some
interesting experiments in this line One
of its latest impOrtatio is the strange and
curious bird that we have been accustomed
to associate with the awful solitudes of the
Sahara, but which of late years. has been
successfully domesticated and seems to &C
cept quite philosophically its seeming des-
tiny to devote its life to the adornment of
womanklnd.
In 1885, MIR. Edwin Cawston embarked
with fifty-two birds from the Cape Colony;
but the ostrich Is not a good sailoC. Ten
of the birds persisted In transit, and the
remaining forty-two seemed never to re-
cover wholly from the effects of the long
voyage, so that now only one of them sur
wives. From them, however. a number of
fertile eggs Matched, and the good work
went on until to-day there is a total of
over 800 native Californian ostriches in this
country.
The two largest farms are at Norwalk
and South Pasadena; but the company has
a branch farm at San Antonio, Tex. and
contemplates establishing a fourth one in
some other of the Southern states which
will be stocked with the birds that have
been on exhibition at Omaha during the
summer. In addition to these, a farm has
recently been established by another COM
pany at Wiltshire Cal. So that ostrich
farming in the United States may be said
to have passed beyond the experimental
stage. and TO have become a settled in
dustry.
In Africa, the farms are very large, Of
ten covering thousands of acres, and the
ostriches roam at will over this extensive
territory, pasturing on its heritage. At
the South Pasadena farm they are con-
fined in a number of corrals, the whole
covering only few acres. What the bird
thus loses in freedom IL gains In safety,
for on the great African farms many birds
are lost through accident. There are on
this farm at present not quite 100 ostriches
Most of these are confined in a corral con-
tanning about two acres of ground. But
several pairs of ful-gTown birds have been
separated from the troop and keep house
each in a corral Of its own. These fav-
ored individuals have been named after
prominent men and women of the day
Thus. Mr.. and Mrs. Mckinley occupy a
fiat adjacent to that of Mr.. and Mrs. Gro
yer Cleveland; while just across the way
markabe harmony for the time being
Messrs. Corbett and Fitzsimmons, as it
seems, have renounced the emoluments Of
the pugilistic arena for the more modest
domestic felicities of the paterfamillas.
The full-grown male is a handsome and
imposing creature. 1t stands about seven
feet high and weighs $50 pounds Its body
is covered with black feathers, its tail is
a bunch of white plumes, and in each wing
ar " loanftfUl "
which fan over the body in a lovely
fringe. During the breeding season the bill
and the scales on his legs turn deep rose
color. The feathers of the female are of
a uniform dark drab The large power
full thighs are perfectly bare and of a
blush color. The long neck and small fiat
head, too, are bare, except for a thin COW
ering of bristles. The large eyes have a
curiously bright soft look. The head is
absurdly small. No wonder the poor os-
trich is stupid when nature has grudg-
irgly bestowed upon so large a body a
brain smaller than that of a cat.
Not being gifted, therefore, with intel
lectual resources, the ostrich, like the sol
der that is deficient in courage, places his
known that the ostrich will outrun the
horse. But, unlike the soldier, he uses his
legs not only to flee from the enemy, but
also to attack him. During the breeding
season the male often becomes very fierce
On the approach of an intruder, he draws
himself up to his full hight standing on
tiptoe stretches his long neck and raising
tipte, stretches his long neck, and raising
his curious two-toed foot. gives a forward
kick at the hight of about three feet, pow
srful enough to fell a man, and even to
kill him. Men on horseback are especial
" obnoxious 20 ostriches and they have
a strange aversion to negroes. A saw
age ostrich is fought in Africa with the
weapon known as the tackey, which IS
simply a branch of thorny mimosa that Is
waved in the BIRDS face to confuse and
bewilder 1t, enabling the man to step aside
and avoid its kicks.
An ostrich walks with a curious springy
movement like a person trying to walk
very quietly on his tlptoes. 1t is strange
that SO foolish a bird should have so ter
rible a voice! The roar of the male os-
trich is said to be identical with that of
the lion, except that the former when near
sounds like the latter far off. Hunters
in Africa are sometimes deceived by the
resemblance. The female, however Is
voiceless and calls her chicks by rusting
her wings.
Notwithstanding its proverbiaI stupidity,
the ostrich holds some very advanced opin-
ions on social and Industrial questions So
IL comes about that, In an ostrich house
hold husband and wife share each others
duties so far as may be- As soon as they
have set up housekeeping. Mr. Ostrich
begins at once 10 prepare a nest for their
future family. This he does by squattng
down on the ground and scraping the
sand out from under him with his feet,
until he has scooped out an oval cavity
of sufficient size. When adj is ready, Mrs
Ostrich comes forward to perform her
part She lays an egg every day until
she has from twelve to fifteen. And now
IL YOU are INSCRIPTIONS enough and can
manage TO elude the Watchfulness of her
husband. you may sadly outwit poor stu
did Mrs. O. After a few days, you may
abstract an egg from the nest daily, and
the poor creature will go on laying until
she has laid about thirty. The surplus
eggs may be hatched in an incubator.
The nest being at last fun of eggs. Mr..
and Mrs. o. take turns in sitting on them.
he performing this duty by night and she
by day Every morning and evening they
leave the nest uncovered for quarter of
an hour, while they go for walk, taking
the precaution, on a warm morning. OF
placing pinch of sand on each egg to pro-
tect it from the suns heat.
The baby ostrich, when II first makes
tfe apRaarapca i'm the World a a .,,..4