Arizona republican., 1912-07-25
DON I CARE
 FUR EXPENSES
South African Ostric h Growers Consider No Cost Too Great for Bet torment of Their Stock; Expensive Expedition

Secretary Welch of the board of Agricultural Journal of the Union of South Africa. published at Pretoria, by the government. with offices also in Cape Town. The June number con- tains a very interesting article on "Ost- riches from the Soudan" It is inter esting here for the reason that there are a great many people in this valley interested dirctly or indirectly in the ostrich industry and further because the article is the report of a notable expedition from South Africa to the northern provinces under the direction of R. w. Thornton, q government az riculturist, who visited this valley a year ago or thereabout to inspect the conditions of the ostrich industry.
 The purpose of the expedition was to secure, if possible ostriches sup posed to be in existence there of special type from which the best fea- ther producers among the South Amer ican birds are said to have descended. The breeding of Ostriches in South Af- frica has become as much of a science as the breeding of any other fine live stock in this country and no expense is too great to further improve the birds. They breed for specific pur- poses, seeking to gain in quality rath- CT than quantity of feathers, a phase of the industry that only has begun in this country Here an ostrich is an ostrich and the poorest of them are valuable but in that country a poor bird is looked upon very much as a scrub steer would be regarded on an Arizona cattle range. MT. Thornton had hoped to bring back 800 birds but found tha. the type he was looking for was rare and he was able to secure only 140 of them.
 Nevertheless the expedition was re- garded IS quite successful. The birds were most of them spoiled as feather producers. for all time as they had been kept in small compounds and their feathers taken every four months with the result that the feathers were all barred or twisted. However they possessed that peculiar merit it was believed the South African feathers were lacking and the birds were taken with a view of breeding that their progeny. properly cared for would produce the desired feathers. Mir Thornton stated that the people there had been breeding ostriches since a time before South Africa was thought of as a civilized country
 Moreover, he claimed to have discOv- cred the sender of the original Sou danese birds to South Africa.
 The expedition was outfitted in Eng land last october and proceeded to the west coast There they trans shipped to boat and traveled up the Niger river for six days then took a train to the capital of Northern Nigeria and travelled to Kano, the end of the rail- road. Then the party, including ninety four carriers travelled on foot for two days forming the most intimate relations possible with the Arab tra- ders from whom they sought informa ton. Thcn they penetrated the French Soudan and some hundreds of miles were covered by MT Thornton or his l emisSarieS before he got what he went after. Some of the party was sent into l the wilderne as far as 500 miles in | the hope of securing some native wild 1 birds but they were not successful. After the birds were secured MT. 1 Thornton suffered a sunstrOke and was 1 taken to a hospital, his associates at | tending to the shipping of the birds. 1 He recovered in due season and was | the author of the report printed in the l magazine referred to.