Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-30
OSTRICH AS 4 FARM PRODUCT
E.



sible for an infinite amount of prosperity
and happiness in the semi-arid and the
arid regions Of the west. 1t grows almost
everywhere and under almost every sort
OF condition; it produces from four to
eight crops and keeps on growing and
setting a good example of energy and
usefulness to the people. no matter
whether the soil is wet or dry. There
Is nothing in the way Of forage that will
fatten cattle so well or fill the udders of
dairy cows. or make pork, or feed chick
ems, and the blossoms are loaded with
honey for the bees. In regions where no
other forage plant will grow there are
luxurious fields Of alfalfa. It is the chief
dependence Of thousands Of farmers. for
the crop never fails. and the local mar
kets will absorb every ton that is hauled
in. God bless alfalfa
4
because OF alfalfa the ostrich has be-
como an agricultural product. There are
| now about 1000 birds with
VStr1cneS OF an average profit of from
Arizona $50 to SIS a year to the
this valley, each producing
owners. And alfalfa makes it possible
| to raise them, because it is the most
suitable food that has ever been found
| for the birds. They tell me that in South
Africa alfalfa land is worth a thousand
| dollars an acre simply for ostrich food.
Tho raising Of ostriches in the United
states has been carried on in desultory
way Tor amusement and for exhibition
purposes. IN Florida and around Los An
eeles, Cal, but there has been no at
mt tot NSn
awkward birds for support, although they
! have been cultivated for profit many
years IN northern and southern Africa
ana IN Patagonia. There are nearly half
million domesticated ostriches in the
English colonies of Africa, where the
! business is carried on under the strict-st
regulations and the expectation of birds
| and eggs Is limited by the government.
south Africa is the principal source
or supply o for ostrich plumes and more
Europe annually. In Patagonia the os-
trich has been almost exterminated by
| the Indians. who have considered it
necessary to kill the. bird to get the
lof chasing it, with bola, which is a
thin strip of hide twelve or fifteen feet
long. with a stone or ball Of lead or
some other weight at each end. The
and, chasing the bird on horseback
whirls his bola around his head like a
lasso. When he gets in the proper posi-
ton he let's 60 The thong winds around
the legs Of the bird. throws it to the
When he has killed as many birds as
he can reach with his bola he goes
back and skins them. The skins are
afterward plucked for plumes and then
tanned for robes. each robe represent
|sacrificed IN that way. The Argentine
government has recently adopted regu-
lations to prevent the slaughter of os-
minated before the law was passed.
The quality Of the plumes can be i'm
proved by cultivation. Good food and
cleapliness have their effect upon os-
and alfalfa has been found to be the
Ideal food in South Africa, Patagonia
and Arizona. The climatic conditions
in Arizona are practically the same as
those in South Africa. and the birds.
which were first introduced here by
Josiah Harbert, a pioneer Of the Salt
River valley. were prosperous and
profitable from the start.
But 1t is only within the last five
years that ostriches have become a
regular agricultural
Ostrich staple. There are now
cour.r;.. several companies or
oVAap"AAeS' ganized for the purpose
of raising them-the Pan-Amerfcan
Ostrich Company. H. J. McClung, man.
lager: the Arizona Ostrich Company, the
National Ostrich Company. the McNeill-
Wylie Ostrich Company. ]. NJ. Harmon
and r. Wick Arwickey, all of Phoenix,
and Mr.. Pickerell and A. ]. Chandler of
Mesa. These gentlemen together have
between four and five thousand birds.
The Pan-American Company has at
least 1000. 1t is becoming the fashion
for individual farmers to keep from
two to ten birds just as they keep
chickens and swine. 1t is no more
trouble to care for an ostrich than for
more profitable than any other by
product If l may use that term
In estimating the comparative expense
and profit 1t is shown that a steer will
consume from forty to sixty pounds of
alfalfa per day, while an ostrich con-
sumes from six to eight pounds. At the
age of three years a steer in this country
is worth from $40 to $45, while an ostrich
OF the same age is worth from 500 to
$50 The steer brings in no revenue,
SIS worth of plumes annually. and often
as much as a hundred dollars worth,
and the females can he depended on to
produce from six to ten new chicks an
Huduys oSlTlCH cSSS are WOTtu ID eacn,
chicks are worth so. and an ordinary
bird. raised on the place, ought to bring
a total revenue of from $1,000 to 5000
during its lifetime. A bird will produce
plumage for fifty years in South Africa
and there is no reason why it should not
be done here.
I was shown the financial statement
OF one Of the companies near Phoenix for
1910. from which it appears that $40
birds produced revenue Of $12.7SO, of
which 81, go was for plumes: the balance
of 1850 came from eggs and chicks that
were sold.
Forty-seven distinct crops have been
produced with profit in Salt River valley.
Alfalfa Is the most
Crops of Salt profitable: butter is
River Valley. Twelve thousand Us milk
cows are kept in pastures in the neighbor-
hood Of Phoenix. furnishing milk for If
teen large creameries The butter. which
is claimed to be of superior quality,
finds ready sale at an average Of 40 cents
a pound in the local markets, and during
the past winter has brought 60 and Is
cents.
Some years ago an attempt was made
to introduce the camel into the arid lands
OF the southwest. and a large herd was
landed at Galveston in 1858. They came
from Alexandria. Egypt. and We're in
tended to carry the mail on the govern
ment route between San Antonio, Tex,
opd Toe Angelica They were accomGa-