The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-02-09
WAY OF TIL f OSTRICH
OBSERVATIONS BY ONE WHO
RAISES THEM.
1hs Male Ostrich Has But One Mate
and the Female Is Rather Stupid
Ostrich Amusen ents Are Of a Pc
euliar Character.

ouliar Character.
The Phoenix, Arizona, herd of os-
triches inhabits an alfalfa pasture Of
forty acres, three miles north of the
city. The herd is second in size in AM
erica, numbering 1i5 birds. the largest
herd being at FTllerton, Cal, and mum
hering 300 birds.
The first birds brought from South
Africa to America for breeding pur-
poses caIae to California in 1852. In
1SSS fourteen chicks from this herd
were brought to Phoenix for exhibit
ton, and were bought by Josiah Har-
bert, who proposed to breed them. The
purchase was made during the sum
mer and Mr., Harbert put the young
birds in coops carefully covered the
coops with cloths to keep out the sun.
aud drove out TO his home in Alham-
bra. All the birds but two were smoth-
cred to death during the trip. 1t being
impossible to distinguish between the
sexes in young ostriches, and fearing
he had no male bird, Mr.. Harbert pur-
chased one of the male birds brought
from Africa. The 175 birds constitu-
ting the present herd are his descen-
dants. He has been honorably retired,
and with the dignity betting his pa
triarchial position he knocks the stuff
1ng out of everything that comes with
in his reach. 1t was not long ago that
he engaged NJ. Pickrell, President Of
the Arizona Ostrich Company, in an
impromptu scrap" and while Mr.
Pickrell is a husky old bird himself
ana was armed with wooden pitch
fork, old Dom PauP' hit him one welt
and knocked him out for several days.
The ostrich is monogamist. At least
he has but one wife at a time. The
matchmaking is arranged by the hui
man keeper, who puts each pair Of
birds in separate corral. Mr.. Ostrich
is likely to consider the question Of
marriage for some days after he is in
Godueed to his partner, and much
thought on the question colors his
khins and beak bright red. When he
finally determines that family
sheeld be reared he digs nest in the
ground. He then drives his mate up to
the nSst and calls her attention to 1t
by giving her kick. II she is dull Of
comprehension, and she usually is he
continues to kick her and Scold her.
aRf his voice much resembles the roar
Of the lion. He is often compelled 10
go to the extreme of kicking her over
the &foot fence forming the corral.
She finally, however, sees her duty
and begins to lay eggs which average
three pounds in weight. The first two
or three eggs are not fertile and will
not hatch. This fact, curiously enough,
10 known to the mother and she lays
them outside the nest. But in this there
il wonderful provision of nature
On the African desert the nesting Of
tho wild birds is done in the hills or
mountains, far from water and the
haunts of beasts or men. But while
the nest may he many miles from wa
ter, the first requirement of the chick
when he comes from the shell Is water
or its equivalent in liquid food Hence
the necessity Of the two or three ster-
lie eggs which the mother breaks az
/ ter her brood Is born, and on which
/ the chicks live until they are strong
enough to travel
Left to her own Judgment the hen
lays perhaps ten eggs, at the rate of
one In two days, and when the nest
! locks comfortably full, the incubation
/ begins. But the artitice of man de-
| ceiVes her. He Systematically takes
/ the eggs from the nest, and as long as
/ her work seems to he unfinished tie
hen continues to produce eggs. BY this
| system two hens on the Phoenix farm
last year produced fifty eggs each. She
| cannot be deceived, however, as to the
sterile eggs. If they are put in the nest
/ she will continue to pull them out, and
will tiually quit laying and abandon
\ the nest
About fifteen eggs constitute a set
ting, and the period of incubation is
! forty-two days. The male bird does the
/ greater share of this labor. He takes
charge Of the nest at 5 o'clock in the
| evening and remains with II until 9
] o'clock in the morning, when the fe.
male takes charge. At noon he relieves
her for an hour, while she lunches,
| and she then keeps house until 5
/ o'clock.
One Of the most interesting charac-
/ teristics of the ostrich is the manner
/ IN which he takes what may he called
his constitutional" Every morning at
sunrise the herd of young males en-
cages IN foot race, which concludes
In combination cake walk and reel.
In single file they will race around the
pasture at Il twO-minute gait, until
thoroughly limbered up, and then sud-
denly forming in group go through
gyrations that suggest the waltz, the
Virginia reel, the cake walk and the
happy jag 1t Is 8 grotesque perfor-
nance, but there Is singular grace in
the birds play and when they are in
/ full plumage, with their great wings
spread, the Sights BEAUTIFUL ~ -rsss
A woman invented a satchel.bot-
toned paper bag and was offered $780,
600 for her patent before she left
Washington. A woman invented the
Burkden process of making horse
shoes, which turns out such rapid
work that it has saved the country
| $2,k00,0 900 in IA years. A number
! of women's inventions are known to
have been patented under the names
of their husbands, fathers or broth.
ers.
The women of the State Of New
York, in point of numbers Of inven-
tions head the list, with those OF
the New England States following a
close second, the Northwest and Mid.
/ die States ranking next.
An Illinois woman invented a bal.
/ ing press, and two from Texas a dig
gins machine. A Cincinnati woman is
the inventor of a method for decora-
ting pottery, and one from San Fran
cisco devised tap and faucet; Phil.
adelphia woman a bicycle saddle: a
Massachusetts woman window
frame and sash; woman from Swift
zerland calendar clock; a California
woman a method of and means for
impounding debris and storing water;
a New York woman glass jar fruit
protector; an English woman a horse
shoe: a Massachusetts woman an alb.