The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-01-01
WAYS OF TIE OSTRICH
Observed on the Second Largest os-
tieh Farm In America.

tFteh Farm In America.
Arizona Graphic: The Phoenix herd Of
ostrictes ihhabits an alfalfa pasture Of
forty acres, three miles north Of the
city. The herd is second in Size In
America, numbering I75 birds. the larg-
Ell htrd being At Fullerton. Cal, aad
numbering 500 birda
The first birds brought from South
Africa 10 America for breeding purs
poses came to California In 1852. In 1888
fourteen chicks from this herd were
brought 10 Phoenix for exhibition, and
were brought by JOSIAH 1arbert, VINO
proposed to breed them. The purchase
was made during the SUMMER, and Mr..
Harbert put Inc young birds in coops.
carefully covering the c0ops with cloths
10 keep out the sun, and drove out TO his
home In Alhambfa, All the birds but
two were smotherod TO death during the
trip. II being Impossible to distinguish
between the sexes IN young ostriches,
and fearing that he had no male bird
Mr.. HRrbert purchased one Of the male
birds brought from Africa. The 40
birds constituting the present herd are
the descendants. He has been honorably
retired. and With the dignity beiittinB
MS TllNfItEGlOl HlueAllA--1 nc AAlA9SAsoi AAAS
stuffing out OF everything that comes
within his reach. il was not long ago
that he engaged Mr.. Pickrell, president
OF the Arizona Ostrich Company, in an
impromptu ''scrRp," and while Mr.. Pick
reil Is q husky old bird himself and
was armed With a wooden pitchforli.
old "Oom PRuI' hit him one welt. and
knocked him out for several days.
The ostrich Is a morioBamist. AT least
he has but one wife at n 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 mar
rIgae for some daysI0fter he is intro
duced TO his partner, and much thought
on the. question coloGs his shins and
beak a bright red. When he finally de-
termlnes TINT a family should be rear
ed, he digs nest IN the ground. He
then drives his mate up to her nest and
calls her attention to II By giving her u
Kick. II she is dull OF comprehension,
and she usually Is, he continues TO Kick
her and scold her, and his voice much
resembles the roar Of q lion. He is
often compelled to go to the extreme OF
Kicking her over The elght-toot 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,
Is known to the mother and she lays
them outside the nest But In this
there Is a wonderful provision Of ma
ture. on the African desert the nest
ing Of the wild birds Is done in the hills
or mountains. far from water and the
llauRts OF beasts or men But while the
nest may. be many miles from water,
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 t,SD or three sterile
eggs. which the me ShsS breaks after
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 oil
one in two days, and when the nest
looks comfortably full. the incubation
begins But the artifce OF man de-
celves her. The keeper systematically
takes the eggs from the nest, and as
long as her work seems to be unfinish-
ed the hen continues to produce eggs.
BY this system two hens on the Phoe-
nix farm last year produced fifty
eggs each. She cannot be deceived,
however, as TO the sterile eggs. II they
are put In the nest she will continue to
pull them out. and will finally quit lay
ing and abandon the nest.
About fifteen eggs constitute n 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 o'clock in
the evening. and remains with It 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-
terlstIcs Of the ostrich IL the manner In
which he takes what may be called his
constitutional Every morning at
sunrise the herd Of young males en-
gnges in a foot race, which concludes in
a combination cake walk and reel. In
single file they will race around the
pasture at two-mlnute gait. until
thoroughly llmbered up. and then sud-
denly forming in group go through
gyFations that suggest the waltz, the
Virginia reel. the cake walk and the
"happy Jag 1t Is grotesQue per-
fOrmance. but there Is singular grace
In the birds play. and when they are
in full plumage. with their great wings
spread the sight Is beautiful.