The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-01-19
WAY OF THE OSTRICH
OBSERVATIONS BY ONE WHO
RAISES THEM.

re haie OStrich Has But One Mate
and the Female Is Rather Stupid
Ostrich Amusen ents Are of a Pc
culiar 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 Fullerton. Cal. and mum
herring 300 birds.
lie first birds brought from South
| AIica 10 America for breeding pur-
poses came TO California in 1Ss2. In
1873 fourteen chicks from this herd
were brought TO Phoenix for exhibit
tion, aud were bought by Josiah Har-
bert. who proposed to breed them. The
purchase was made during the sum-
ner ana Mr.. Harbert put the young
birds in coOps, carefully covered the
| coopS with cloths to keep out the sun,
ana drove ont TO his home in Alham-
bra. MI the birds but two were smofh-
ered To- death during the trip. Ii being
| impossible TO distinguish between the
sexes III young OstricheS, and fearing
| he mad no male bird, Mr.. Harhert pur-
| chased one of the male birds brought
| from Africa. The 40 birds cOnStitu-
| ting the present herd are his descen-
| dantS. lie has been hOnorably retired,
! aud with the dignity BETTING his pa
| trlarchlal position lie knocks the stuff
! iu@ out OF everything that comes with
! III MS reach. Ii was not long ago that
! he engaged NJ. Pickrell, President of
/ the Arizona Ostrich Company, in an
/ inproWptu scrap" and while Mr..
! Pickrcll is a husky old bird himself
| and was armed with wooden pitch
! fork, old Dom Paul" hit him one welt
l ana knocked him out for several days.
Ihe ostrich Is mouogamist. At least
/ lie has but one wife at 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
/ troduced 10 his partner, and much
I thought on the question colors his
I Sims and beak bright red. When he
/ h.naily determines that family
/ should be reared, he digs n nest in the
| ground. lie then drives his mate up to
I the nest and calls her attention u 1t
| 10y giving her kick. II she is dull of
/ comprehension, and she usually is. he
I continues TO kick her and Scold her
! aud his voice much resembles the roar
/ OF the lion. He is often compelled 10
/ go To the extreme of kicking her over
4 tie S-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 viii
1 not hatch This fact. curiously enough
| is known 10 the mother ami she avs
them outside the nest But in this there
( Is a wonderful provision OF nature
ON the African desert the nesting of
| the wild birds is done in HE hills or
mountains. far from water and the
hauutS Of beasts on men But whf'e
the rest may he many miles from wa
ter. the first requirement Of the chick
when he comes from the shell is water
or lis equivalent i'm liquid food. Hence
the necessity Of the two or three stcr-
lie t--s. which the mother breaks af-
Ter icr brood is born, ana 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
looSS comfortably full, The incubation
begins But the artiiice of man de-
ceives her He Systematically takes
the eggs from the nest ana rs long as
her work seems to lie unfinished
hen continues to pr9duce eggs. BY this
system two hens on the Phoenix farm
last year produced fifty eggs each. She
cannot be deceived. howeveY. rs TO The
sterile eggs. If they are put in the nest
she will continue to pull them out. and
VIII iiually quit laying ana abauuoa
the nest.
About fifteen eggs constitute 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 it until .
o'clock in the morning, when the fe.
male takes charge. Al noon he relieves /
her for an hour, while she lunches. |
and she then keeps house until } |
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 viii race around the
pasture at two-minute gait unil
thoroughly limbered up, and then sud
ienly forming III q group go through
gyrarions that suggest the waltz. The
Virginia reel, the cake walk ard the
happy jag" 1t is a grotesque perfor-
nance, but there is singular grace in
he birds play, and when they are in
'uil plumage, with their great wings
spread, the sight IS beautiful ~ as