Arizona republican., 1910-03-08
OSTRICH INVESTIGATOR ! ! FROM SOUTH AFRICA HIMSELF A SUCCESSFUL RAISER
 OF BIRDS. Mir. z. White Much Impressed by Con-
 ditions in This Valley.

Mir White came three -fourths Of the
 way around the world to make a study
 of conditions here. not with the inten- ! ton of locating. but for the purpose
 of ascertaining what competition the
 industry in the United States is likely
 to afford the South African ostrich growers.
 When he left home he intended only
 to go to London Thence hc decided
 he would investigate the New York
 market, and there he learned more
 of the ostrich business in the Salt 1 River Valley. of which he had heard
 something. and obtained a letter from
 Stein. a New York dealer in ostrich
 plumes, to w. & Pickrell of this city.
 and he came 10 Phoenix.
 Mir. White said that if he had un-
 dcrstood how far if was from New
 York to Arizona he would not have set
 out on the journey. He did not think
 there was such a long railroad stretch [ in the world.
 On his arrival he immediately set ] ous to study the ostrich farms and he
 has seen all of them. The climate he
 says is almost exactly the same as it is in the ostrich raising region of
 South Africa. which lies generally along the southern coast
 | But this country possesses one ad- 1 vantage over that region Tn that land : is so much cheaper. Mir. White was ! amazed. when he learned that land | could be bought here for from sl50 to [ $3OU an acre. Most of the land in the part of Cape Colony from which he ! comes cannot be bought at all. as it is
 cntailed. and when one can purchase if , at s1.000 an acre he believes that he 1 has secured a bargain. \ common rental for ostrich raising land is s900 ! per annum.
 | This feature of the industry in Ari ! zona was so attractive to Mir. White 1 that lc inquired whether the introduc- I tion of ostrichcs from South Africa was barred by statutes or obstructcd ! by prohibitive duties. He was sur prised 10 learn that there was no ob- | struction. He said that there was ! heavy export duty on ostrichcs in | South Africa. but he believed that he could bring the birds out. He was sure that if the rsiscrs in South Africa : knew of tho opportunity offered here
  1 tie Salt River Valley.
 1 Speaking of the auaiity O. the birds. ' ie said that while those hc had seen here were magnificent specimens and | larger than those of South Africa. ] they lacked the breeding which time ! had effected in the older community. ! Many of the birds here. he said. re- ' scmbled the wild ostricies of the southern part of the continent, or. : perhaps. more closely rcsemblcd the ! Nubian ostrich of the north. i Speaking of breeding. Mir White 1 said that attention is paid only to the | improvement of the plumes and not at ! all to the physical health of the os- | triclI The mating = rrelucrtiy made l on the advice of :n" e.perts who have | not seen the birds at all. Feathers , from male and female Lirds are laid before the expert. who takes tNVp and compares them for tint and texture 1 and general characteristics and recom mends that the birds from which they were taken be mated. It may be that they are brother and sister or father and daughter, or it may be that they i are both delicate birds. But, any | how. they are mated. with the result ! that there is an improvement in the plumcs of the progeny, which, how | evcr may be weak and delicate. i In this way the plumes have become , longer broader and deeper and of bet ter color. for which the breeder must
 pay by taking better care of his more
 delicate. though moro productive. birds.
 While Mr White was speaking of Iinbrecding, Mir. Pickrell related fact | that is not generally known. and that 1 is that three -fourths of the ostriches 1 in America arc descended from fath- 1, CT and daughter in this valley. { About IS years ago Josiah liar l'bert. the pioneer of the ostrich indus l try. imported several birds to Phoenix on account Of ignorance of handling Ethcm. only three reached the Harbert ffarln alivc-a male. female and one tof their chicks. Through negligence. lthe female was permitted to die. and Eafter that the male bird was mated with the chick. This arrangement was the practical genesis of the os- etrich business in the United States. Ethough Cswston in Southern Califor- f mia has a few ostriches of another strain.
 Mir. White said that. while the South African birds are more produc i tive. the Salt River Valley growers | have the better market so that the business is more remunerative in this country. to say nothing of the cheaper
 land here.
 As to the number. of ostriches in | South Africa. that is, aside from the wild ostriches. which are very numer- l oiIs. Mir. White said it was largely q 1 matter of conjecture. When the gov | ernmcnt tries to set a line on the in
 dustry. some of the owners suspect it | is for the purpose of taxation and re- | port much smaller number. | So. then,' it was suggested. people 1 in South Africa as well as in Phoenix l try to evade the tax gatherer." Yes" replied Mir. White, it would
 be long and expensive journey to some unknown country where the evasion of taxes is not attempted The consular reports to this country of ten years ago stated that there were about 216.000 birds in Cape
 Colony. but Mir. White believed that
 there were 150.000 in the small district I of Oudtshoorn alone.
 The greater number Of the birds in South Africa are not kept cn farms, vl- T, hut a t,,r