The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1907-07-26

pretty soon every bro on the farm waa
Huntington no apparent reason, just run
ming. When they are in full feather they
mako a pretty sight In running, as they
hold out their wings and SO, show the.
beautiful plumes underneath.
"They do take pride in their plu1nage..
When they are first plucked they become
very sulky and seem to wish to hide them
selves. If a plucked bird is turned With
the unplucked they fall on him tooth and
nail and the poor fellow is made to suffer
for his loss.
"Ostriches are plucked every eight.
months. ! use the word plucked, though
the feathers are seldom pulled. When
ripe they are cut, and later when the old
quilts have become perfectly dry they are
drawn from the sockets by means of a
pair of tweezers. This is not the slightest
bit painful to the bird and there is no
blood drawn.
"A. healthy ostrich, and l never saw r.
/ grown bird that was not healthy. wiz
yield from $50 to $50 worth OF feathers a
year. AS year old birds are now selling
il. -Arizona for 500 apiece for the South
! African breed and $50 more for Nuhians.
g ge5r s sai Fe5 {S' sscs e. zsarl ..-- ezsass on q
corn at night: For the chicks before tne..e,
are able to, pick for themselves ALI $40
leaves are mixed with wheat bran. IN
IN me chicks are six months sD9 aaaM
sHoulu DC housed at night and kept out OF
the rain or damp. After that time they
are as hardy as any one could wish. and
two months later are ready for their first
plucking.
O course this first growth Of fssuthers
is not i1rst class, but 1t has a good ,nxr-'
kee value. And every plucking thereaffSQ.
becomes more valuable until ar ,nat,,-s.,,
when the ird is about three and , 10
years old. or the mating time. JntiI 1hi~
time 1t is difficult to tell the males fror,i
the females.
When full grown the male birds arei
plack with white wings, while the femalesi
are brownlsh gray, or what Is known ,y,]
the feather trade as natural. The Nsha,,
plrd differs from the South African ini
having a pink neck. 1t is larger and alsol
much handsomer In general appearance.
III my farm In Havana proves the sue
cess that l expect 1 shall add a eooxal
many Nubians during the next scason
The ones that are now In Cuba arc 1922
handsome and have been very much AZ
mlred. They were shipped direct from
france and were Upward Of a month on
the way. Although the voyage was un-i
usually rough not a bird was lost and nonai
OK them was injured.
My farm in Havana is a beautir,,1 o,ai
spanish castle quite near the house oc-s
cupled by General Lee when he was st.-i
TONED In Cuba, and also near Camn C,,-
lumbla. While I intend to have 1t as q sor,
= eHoW farm at Irst, II the birds :arai.
healthy 1 shall go in extensively for.
breeding. I see no reason why it shoulHl
not De a success. but still Nubfar hryssi
at 800 a pair are too great a risk tn,
take until the climate has been tested
far as the quality of the feathers t.i
concerned l am sure 1t will make no d1f-tA
ference. Commercially there are ten or
more grades Of feathers, but quality de-.
ponds on the breed Of the birds and thei
way they have been handled more thant
on the climate. "
The ostrich plume as seen on h,rs has:
gone through many washings, bleachinesg
and curlings after leaving the farm. Oni
the South African birds the plumes ara
perfectly straight. but the Nubians hsv~i
t:urled plumes by nature. That is tho
chlef reason for their great beauty.
! mad at first a great desire to make n,
pet OF an ostrich. but after Investigations.
gave 1t up. When 1 found that thew .rer,a.
not be taught to cross the road and THAI
the ones we see in harness have to he;
driven between two lines Of wire fencing.
to prevent them from boiling l was cow
WINGED there was no use in trying TO tra3ni
them for the house. "
AS a business 1 understand and eniov
sonality of the ostrich is concerned-why.5
they haven't any sense: they are utteriss
silly. How can they have a p~ersonalityri
They are just big, healthy IDIOTS in that
shape of BIRDS"