BMTISH COLONIES OSTRICH FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. BEING AN ACCOUNT OF Its Origin and Rise ; How to set about it ; The Profits to be derived; How to Manage the Birds ; The Capital required ; the Diseases and Difficulties to be met with , &e. &c. BY ARTHUR DOUGLASS, Inventor and Patentee of the “ Eclipse ” and other Ostrich Incubators; Medallist of the Soctite d’ Acclimatation, Paris International Exhibitions, &c. Cassell, Petter, G- alpin & Co. LONDON, PARIS % NR TP YORK; AND S. W. SILVER & CO., Sun Court, 67, Cornhill, London, E.C. [all rights reserved.] PREFACE. In undertaking to write on “ Ostrich Farming in South Africa,” I have done so at the urgent solicitations of friends, and in response to the numerous letters addressed to me from all parts of the world asking if any such work were to be had. In presenting it to the public, I do so knowing that many imperfections will be found. As a literary production, written at broken intervals in the midst of a busy life, it is necessarily far from perfect. As the first work of its kind ever published, it is no doubt far from exhaustive ; but, such as it is, we present it to our fellow-colonists, intending emigrants, and others, as an honest attempt to help others on the road we have travelled ourselves, and to forward the best interests of the Colony of our adoption and affection. Royal Colonial Institute, 15, Strand, London. June 22, 1881. CONTENTS. CHAP. I. Ostrich Farming, its Origin and Prospects . II. The Ostrich ..... III. South Africa in a Farming Light IV. The Capital Required .... V. Fencing ...... VI. The Profits of Ostrich Farming VII. Birds on the Halves .... VIII. Farming Partnerships .... IX. Travelling with Birds .... X. Stocking a Farm .... XI. Managing a Flock of Plucking Birds . XII. Taking the Feathers .... XIII. Preparing the Feathers for Market . XIV. The English Feather Market XV. Selecting and Managing the Breeding Birds XVI. The Egg ...... XVII. Natural Hatching ..... XVIII. Artificial Hatching .... XIX. Rearing the Chicks .... XX. Diseases ...... XXI. Tape-worms ...... XXII. Strongylus Douglassii .... XXIII. Caponising ...... PAGE 1 6 16 24 29 45 49 54 58 62 67 74 80 87 94 101 106 111 123 135 145 155 164 Vlll CONTENTS. CHAP. XXIV. Wounds ...... PAGE 168 XXV. Economy and Credit .... . 172 XXVI. Destruction of Carnivorous Animals 186 XXVII. Land Laws ...... . 190 XXVIII. Horses and Cattle .... 200 XXIX. The Labour Supply .... . 209 XXX. Dam-making ..... 218 XXXI. Building and Brick-making . 227 XXXII. Hints on Buying and Hiring Farms 233 XXXIII. To Young Englishmen about to Emigrate . . 240 ILLUSTRATIONS. Map of British Colonies in South Africa The Ostrich (Struthio Camelus) .... Heatherton Towers ..... Travelling with Birds ..... Heatherton Feather-Room .... The Author’s Prize Feathers, as Exhibited at the Royal Agricultural Society’s Show at Derby, July, 1881 ...... Hen Bird Sitting ..... Heatherton Incubating Room .... Coolie Feeding Chicks .... Bird with Nest ...... Birds Drinking at a Dam .... Frontispiece, facing p. 8 „ 16 ,, 58 5) 80 » 93 „ 107 „ 111 „ 123 „ 187 „ 218 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. CHAPTER I. OSTRICH-FARMING: ITS ORIGIN AND PROSPECTS. In treating of Ostricli-farming it is essential to bear in mind what a short time has elapsed since the first domestication of the wild bird, whicli we can only date back about fourteen years ; as, although previous to this a few Ostriches had been kept in zoological gardens, and in parks, like that of the late Sir Walter Currie, at Oatlands Park, Grahamstown, we have not heard that any one had them breeding in a tame state. So that, although we should have to go back a long period to find when the first tamed Ostrich was kept, the domesti¬ cation of Ostriches for the purpose of farming them for the sake of their plumage must be taken to date from 1867. As to who should bear the palm for being the first to have succeeded in domesticating the Ostrich, i.e ., to have had a nest from tamed birds, and to have reared their chicks in a tame state, it may be hard to decide. We believe some challenge our claim : B 2 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA : whether justly or not, we cannot say; at any rate, we believe no one disputes that we were the first to make it our sole occupation, and to bring it before the world as the extraordinarily lucrative and great industry it has now become— an industry in which in the Cape Colony alone there is not less than £8,000,000 of capital employed, and with an export of feathers for last year of 163,065 lbs. weight, valued at £883,632, being equal to £5 8s. 4d. per lb., the great mass of which was from tame birds. It seems almost unaccountable that for over forty years after the landing of the British settlers in the colony such a mine of wealth should have lain at their doors, within almost daily sight of them, as at that time the wild bird was in abundance throughout Albany, and right up to the Zambesi, and many of the most adventurous of the settlers made an occupation of hunting the birds and exporting the feathers, and con¬ stantly came upon broods of young birds ; or even later on, when the birds were destroyed and hunted into more inland parts, and Grahamstown became the main centre from which the traders fitted out and returned to sell their feathers, and the inhabitants constantly saw feathers sold for nearly their weight in gold, yet the idea never struck them of domesticating the bird, and reaping a half-yearly crop of feathers, instead of shooting it for a single crop. ITS ORIGIN AND PROSPECTS. 3 The consideration of this should act as a great stimulus to every young man to keep his eyes open for other mines of wealth, which no doubt lie around us in this, as yet, little-developed land. But any one who will discover these must rely entirely on himself, and must not be deterred by any amount of sneers and ridicule. Many a time at first we were told we were mad, and should leave it alone ; that it would never pay ; that the birds were naturally of so timid a nature, they would never breed in confinement ; or if they ever did make a nest, that it was their nature to break all their eggs if any one went near it ; and that even if all other difficulties were overcome, the feather grown in a tame state would not curl, and would be of little value. This latter was extensively believed, even by the dealers in feathers, and for some years a great pre¬ judice was maintained against tame feathers. As this has quite died out now, it is hard to account for it, and only shows how strong prejudice is against any¬ thing new. The French have made great efforts to introduce Ostrich-farming in Algiers^ but it does not seem to have taken much root there. Birds are also, to a small degree, kept in a tame state in Egypt. But South Africa has become, and is likely to remain, the great seat of the industry. B 2 4 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA : The Melbourne Acclimatisation Society imported some into Australia about eight years ago, but they have only slightly increased, and the experiment as yet can hardly be considered a success. A few other small lots have also been introduced into some of the other Australian colonies. Last year a shipment of over a hundred birds took place from Cape Town to Buenos Ayres. The North African Ostrich is considered to give a more valuable feather than the South African, and a few years ago two pairs of birds were imported at Port Elizabeth from Barbary. For some years not only farmers, but experienced business men, were always prognosticating that the feather market would collapse with the increase of the Ostrich ; but the reverse has been the case. Fourteen years ago the export of feathers from the Cape was only valued at £70,000, entirely from wild birds, and yet prices were no higher than they are now, and the fluctuations of price have not been so great as in most other staple raw productions. One of its great safe¬ guards is, that it is part of the Court dress ; and as long as it is so it will always be fashionable ; and the vested interests, not only of the growers, but, what is more important, of wealthy men in Europe, in the shape of the manufacturers of the curled and dressed feather, TTS ORIGIN AND PROSPECTS. 5 and of the dealers, is so great that no fear need be entertained of its being allowed to go out of fashion. Besides which, the feather is undoubtedly the most beautiful article of ornament of its kind, and as such is independent of fashion to a great extent. Other markets are opening for them, creating at this time a greater demand than the present increase of birds can supply. The last quarter’s customs returns show an export to the United States of America — a totally new market for us — of £12,000 worth, whilst we personally have received large orders for another new market. CHAPTER II. THE OSTRICH. The Ostrich family is represented by four species, viz., the Ostrich proper ( Strnthio camelus ), the Rhea, the Emu, and the Cassowary. Some naturalists give a fifth, viz., the Apteryx, inhabiting New Zealand ; but this we consider a mistake, as, although it possesses many of the characteristics of the Ostrich, it differs from them so much in other respects as to exclude it from the family. The family differs from other birds in having only rudimentary wings, unadapted to flight ; in having the barbs of the feathers of equal length on each side of the quill, and of such a nature as to deprive it of the means of flight, and in having the breast rounded like a barrel, instead of being like a keel, as in birds of flight. THE OSTRICH PROPER is distinguished from the other members of the family — (1.) By being the only one with two toes : (2.) By being twice the size of the others : (3.) By its eggs averaging upwards of three pounds THE OSTIIICH. 7 in weight, whilst the others barely average one and a quarter pound : (4.) By the head and neck being bare of feathers : (5.) By the beauty of its plumage, the only other member of the family producing feathers of any marketable value being the Rhea. It is indigenous to and inhabits the whole continent of Africa and Arabia, but in the latter it is now nearly extinct. The Rhea, or South American Ostrich, has three toes and no tail, and produces feathers somewhat similar to the chicken feathers of the Ostrich proper. They are known in the trade as ci vantour 33 or vulture feathers, being worth from 4s. to 30s. a pound. A curious case of swindling came to light last year in Port Elizabeth, where a man, largely engaged in the feather trade, im¬ ported large quantities of these feathers, and mixing them up with the inferior kinds of white and grey Ostrich feathers, sold them again as Ostrich feathers at an enormous profit, completely deceiving the colo¬ nial buyers, the matter not being discovered till the feathers got into the hands of the London manufac¬ turers. The Rhea inhabits, in vast numbers, that part of South America which lies south of the Equator and east of the Andes mountains, extending down to the Straits 8 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. of Magellan, thus reaching to 18 degrees nearer the Pole than the Ostrich. It is being rapidly destroyed for the sake of its feathers, which are being exported in enormous quantities, principally to North America and France. The egg of the Rhea, like the Ostrich, is cream- coloured when fresh laid, gradually turning quite white. THE EMU inhabits the whole of Australia, and Australia only. It has three toes, is of a brown colour, the feathers being of a crisp, hairy nature, and of no commercial value. Its eggs are very handsome, being of a deep blue colour, and much indented. It has all the habits of the Ostrich. The plumage of the two sexes is of the same colour. It is fast being destroyed, as the country gets filled up with sheep. THE CASSOWARY is found sparsely in Northern Australia, some parts of the Malay Archipelago, and in the South Pacific. It is distinguished from the other members of the Ostrich family by a large horny excrescence on its head, and most of the species, of which there are several, have one or two wattles suspended from the neck. It stands, like the Emu, about five feet high, is of a very dark brown THE OSTRICH. 9 colour, lias hairy feathers of no value, is quite wingless, and lays a light-greenish egg. The whole tribe are noted for their excessive shyness and timidity, without which in the struggle for existence in the world they would ere this have ceased to exist, from being deprived of the powers of flight. We have taken this glance at the other members of the family, as it is essential that the Ostrich-farmer should know thus much of them ; but we shall not have again to refer to them, as our remarks will be entirely on the African Ostrich ( Struthio ccimelus ), so called from the resemblance of its foot to that of the camel. We will now take a glance at its anatom}r. The reader need not fear a lot of dry, hard, scientific names that would convey no information to him. My intention is to convey such a general knowledge of the frame of the bird the Ostrich-farmer has to deal with, as shall assist him to make post-mortems of birds that may die, and to convey in an intelligent manner to other farmers anything peculiar he may notice. THE LEG. Most farmers call the joints by their wrong names. The Ostrich walks on its toes ; what is commonly called the ankle-joint is the second toe-joint of man. The so- called knee-joint corresponds with the ankle-joint, and 10 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. the so-called thigh, where we brand, with the calf; the proper thigh being the short thick bone above this. This is the usual formation of all swift-footed animals, the part from what most farmers call the knee down¬ wards being the foot, the heel being exceedingly long. It is very advisable that farmers should remember this, so that in describing to each other malformation or injuries, there should be no confusion ; so we have— 1st. The first toe-joint ; 2nd. The second toe-joint ; 3rd. The ankle-joint ; 4th. The knee-joint, above the place we brand ; 5th. The thigh-joint. The leg is easily broken, either with a blow or when they are dancing, when there is nothing for it but to kill them. They are also subject to spraining the ankle- joint and instep, for which the best remedy is cold water bathing and arnica lotion. We have had them put the ankle-joint completely out ; if seen to at once this can be easily pulled in, and a few hours' cold bathing and leaving them in a dark stable, so that they do not use the leg, will put them all right in a couple of days. They will sometimes get tumours on the leg ; these are easily opened and removed, when the place should be well cauterised. Young birds will sometimes get a staggering gait, knocking the legs together as they THE OSTRICH. 11 walk ; this is the after-effect of the birds having eaten some poison, and although they may live for a long time they will gradually get worse and die. THE WING, which constitutes nearly the whole value of the bird, is exceedingly small, and the feathers are unadapted for flight, but in other respects it is perfect. They are rather subject, especially as young birds, to put out the first or small joint, which is known by the wing hanging down. It is easily pulled into place, and should be at once tied to the other wing over the back, and left, when it will soon get right again. " o O o THE HEAD is exceedingly small, and consequently the brain is small also. This has been calculated to be in the pro¬ portion of 1 to 1,200 as compared with its whole body, whilst the eagle’s is as 1 to 160, and the parroquet’s as 1 to 45 ; and yet the bird is anything but stupid, as eveiy man must own who has seen it breaking open the shell to let out a chick that is fast inside, or has seen it managing its chicks. The eye is the only organ of the head we have known subject to disease. In all cases there is nothing like pouring in a lotion of sulphate of zinc, and repeating it constantly — as much as will lie 12 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. on a shilling to a quart bottle of water is the strength required. We have known ants to attack little chicks, and nearly blind a whole brood, which were all saved with this treatment. THE NECK is remarkable for its great length and for its forma¬ tion, allowing the bird to turn its head completely round. They are very apt to get bones stuck fast in swallowing ; if they cannot be forced up again, an incision should be made, the bone removed, and the place sewn up, when it will quickly heal. THE HEART lies immediately under the junction of the neck with the body. They are very subject to dropsy of this organ, or what is commonly known as water on the heart, which will be treated of when considering worms. THE LUNGS lie along the back-bone, extending down the ribs, but not adhering to them. They should be of a beauti¬ ful vermilion colour. When diseased or congested, it will be known by their black appearance, and by the clotted blood found inside. THE OSTRICH. 13 THE LIYER comes immediately behind the heart. There is no gall bladder. In health it is of a deep plum colour, with a beautiful flush on it, and is remarkable for its inviting look. These constitute the organs protected by the ribs, and are separated from the remaining organs by a diaphragm across the body. Continuing our course from head to tail, we next have THE GIZZARD, or the mill where the food is ground up. This should always be hard and full of stones. It is subject in disease to get flabby, and consequently to allow the stones to pass into the intestines and out in the dung, as they should never do if the bird is in health. But more of this in treating of worms. THE STOMACH is the organ into which the food passes at once when swallowed. It corresponds with the crop of other birds. It is here that the juices are given out to the food from small cells dotted over a portion of the stomach, and it is the seat of one of the most formidable diseases 14 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. that lias yet appeared {See Worms). From the stomach the food passes up into the gizzard, and from thence into the intestines. The stomach and the gizzard are united together, and held by a diaphragm to the left side of the bird, to the left side of the backbone, and to the diaphragm, which divides the body in two. Thus the right side of the body, when the stomach is empty, has in it only the first small entrail ; when the stomach is full, it extends nearly from side to side. These are points that must be borne in mind when we come to consider capon ising. THE INTESTINES. These are roughly divided into the small and large intestines, or otherwise the upper and lower. The small intestines extend from the gizzard to the “coeca” (otherwise known as the two blind stomachs, from their having no outlet). In the small intestines the food is converted into what is called chyle. It is here we find the Tape-worm. From the u coeca” the large intestines begin. First we have the maniply, or what corresponds in cattle and sheep to the book paunch. From the maniply we pass on down the large intestines to the rectum. It is in these latter that we get constipation, or stop sickness, which is so fatal to the Ostrich. THE OSTRICH. 15 THE TESTICLES of the male, or the ovarium of the female, lie oppo¬ site the stomach, and under the hump in the back-bone, to which they are suspended. THE KIDNEYS are exceedingly large, extending along the back-bone from the testicles to the bladder. THE BLADDER lies just below the rectum, and is nothing more than an enlargement of the extreme end of the in- testines. The penis is curled up in the bladder. The bones of the Ostrich, as in other birds, are hollow. The age to which an Ostrich can live is unknown. It has been usually supposed to be very great, possibly a hundred years, as some people assert, though we believe this to be entirely guess-work. The usual calcu¬ lation for animals, that of six times the period it takes to arrive at maturity, would give it twenty-four years, but we are inclined to think that it reaches a greater age than this. CHAPTER III. SOUTH AFRICA IN A FARMING LIGHT. With a new industry like Ostrich-farming it is highly essential to bear in mind the past history of the country in regard to its stock-carrying capabilities, and, if pos¬ sible, so to manage things as to avoid all the ills that have befallen the other great industry of wool-growing. The great body of the Cape Colony consists of great plains of Karoo country, composed of exceedingly fertile soil covered with alkaline bushes, with a scant and uncertain rainfall, in which cultivation is impossible without irrigation. The rainfall gradually gets less and less to the north-west, until in Namaqua Land we have a rainless country. The Karoo country is exceedingly good for sheep-walks, the sheep keeping in better health, increasing more rapidly, and growing larger than in other parts, and all other kinds of stock thrive better than in the grass country. But it is occasionally subject to such terrible droughts that heavy losses in stock occur. On the coast, and extending on an average about thirty miles inland, is a heavy, sour grass country, c-n -r SOUTH AFRICA IN A FARMING LIGHT. 17 which stock will not thrive and sheep will not live at all. Cattle, unless bred on it, die to an immense extent of liver complaints ; only a small percentage of the calves can be reared. Horses get poor and wretched. The veldt swarms with myriads of ticks — from the little fellow that burrows in the skin of man, producing horrid sores, to the large Bonte tick that destroys the teats of the cows, and produces terrible sores on all animals. But it has a fine and comparatively certain rainfall of over thirty inches annually, and cultivation is carried on to a large extent without any irrigation, the crops never totally failing. Between these two is a narrow belt of broken veldt, with a mixed herbage, and carrying the greatest number of live stock of any part of South Africa. The northern parts of Kafffaria, the Queenstown and Aliwal districts, Free State, Basutoland, Trans¬ vaal, and Northern Natal are densely clothed with sweet grass in the lowlands, and sour on the high mountains. Stock of all sorts thrive well, and the country is capable of carrying a heavy stock. The rainfall being good and moderately certain, cultivation without irrigation becomes practicable. But sheep are subject to more diseases than in the Karoo ; and some parts, after carrying sheep for several years, give in and will not maintain them, c 18 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. The Ostrich in its wild state was originally found over every part of South Africa ; but whether it lived year in and year out in the grass veldt, or only came there occasionally when driven out of the more barren parts by exceptional droughts, is now wrapped in obli¬ vion. That it is always looked upon as essentially a bird of the desert we know, but this may not have been from choice — not that it would not naturally prefer the soft succulent grasses of the moister parts, but that these parts were where man found the readiest means of existence, and usurped to the driving out of the Ostrich. These parts, too, teem with animal life, and consequently here were found the lion, the tiger, the wild dog and jackal, ready to prey on the Ostrich and drive him into the desert. The Ostrich has now been introduced into every part of the Cape Colony, and appears to thrive well in all, the high grass lands subject to much cold having as yet proved the least adapted to the industry. But it will take some years’ more experience to prove which parts are permanently the best. It may prove, as with the sheep, that some farms on which they throve the best the first few years eventually proved utterly unadapted to them, presumably from certain herb s essentially necessary to the health of the sheep being so sparse on the land that they were quickly destroyed. SOUTH AFRICA IN A FARMING LIGHT. 19 Birds as yet are only being farmed to a small extent in the Free State, and scarcely at all in the Transvaal and Natal. Should the birds continue healthy on the coast lands, then these will undoubtedly be the best, as from the abun¬ dant herbage and large rainfall a very much heavier stock could be kept on the same acreage as inland ; whilst the old ploughed lands would always produce succulent weeds that they are so fond of, and the farmer could grow his own grain for them : and it may be it will prove so, as the ticks that are so detrimental to other stock can only retain a hold in three jdaces on the Ostrich, namely, under the thighs, and on the head and upper neck — all places where the bird cannot get at them to pull them off. And the stones and alkalies in which this part is deficient can readily be supplied to them in an artificial form. Any one who has been in Australia, or has read much of the immense scale on which wool-growing is carried on there, where a hundred thousand sheep owned and managed by one man is not uncommon, and where ten thousand is held to be the smallest number that can be profitably worked, and then compares the Cape, where ten thousand is a rarity, and a man with three thousand is looked upon as well to do, would think that the soil and climate of Australia are superior. But it is c 2 20 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. not so. They are very similar, the difference being in favour of the Cape, which, taking it all through, will carry a heavier stock to a given area than Australia. The difference is partially caused by the farmer having to purchase his land, because at the Cape a large proportion of his capital is sunk in land ; whilst in Australia, the sheep industry being mainly carried on on government ground, the squatter merely paying a grazing licence of 8d. a head per annum for the stock the land is supposed to be capable of carrying, his whole capital goes into stock. But the great cause of difference is in the labour supply. In Australia labour is dear, but it is White, and does not require close supervision ; therefore, large flocks, extending to a radius of twenty miles from the homestead, are practicable ; and the fewer homesteads the less expense and more profits ; whilst at the Cape the labour is very cheap, but very untrustworthy, great supervision being absolutely necessary; consequently, not more than one or two out-stations are practicable, and in most cases all the sheep are kept at the home¬ stead, where they can be counted morning and evening and guarded from thieves, without which care they would soon melt away ; the greater number of home¬ steads, therefore, up to a certain limit, the greater profit at the Cape ; and this applies equally when com¬ paring the size of the herds of cattle and horses in Australia with the Cape herds. SOUTH AFRICA IN A FARMING LIGHT. 21 The same cause works in the agricultural districts, where everything is comparatively on a small scale, and things are done in a primitive style; but this is all in favour of the young emigrant of little or no capital. The Romans held that the sheep was shod with gold, ie., that it brought wealth wherever it went, in that it enriched the land. This is so where they are enclosed, and leave their dung on the land ; but it is the very reverse where they are herded in flocks. Then they trample and loosen the best of the soil, which gets blown in heaps and washed away ; whilst the under-soil gets hardened down, and the rain runs off instead of soaking in. The manure which should be re-fertilising it gets deposited in enormous heaps where the sheep are kraaled at night, and where it is utterly lost to the soil. The sheep feeding year in and year out over the same ground, the best of the herbs are eaten down and prevented from seeding, till they die out and their place is taken bv inferior kinds. This is what has gone on all over the Cape Colony, till many parts have ceased to support sheep at all. Very great injury was done to the sheep industry by over- stocking, and allowing old, sickly, and inferior sheep to breed. This was partly done in error, and partly because, previous to the discovery of diamonds, there was no market for surplus stock ; but the inevit- 22 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. able result followed. The limit which Nature appears to put to the amount of any one kind of stock on a given area was passed, and she sent diseases and swept them off. That this law is inevitable has been proved over and over again in England, where game has been attempted to be increased to an inordinate extent ; but, in spite of all care and artificial feeding, after a certain point is reached diseases come on and sweep them off. And so with poultry ; as long as a farmer keeps a few, what can be healthier ? But let him get an excessive number, and how quickly diseases break out and reduce them down ! We have written thus much about the sheep, because unless Ostrich-farmers are careful not to crowd the birds on the land, the same results will inevitably follow with them. The land should not be stocked to the extent that it is at first capable of carrying. If it is, the best herbs will be destroyed ; whilst if it is only partially stocked, in good seasons these get a chance to seed and reproduce themselves. Even greater care is required with the Ostrich than with the sheep, from the habit the birds have of selecting one particular plant to feed on, and, as long as they can get that, neglecting all others. The only thoroughly effective way to prevent this is to let half the farm lie idle six months, and then the other half the next six months. The man of SOUTH AFRICA IN A FARMING LIGHT. 23 means, and owning bis own farm, should always have two large camps for each troop of birds, if he would keep an eye to the future as well as the present ; whilst the needy man on a hired farm can move to another farm when his lease is out, and thus save himself from the inevitable consequences of over¬ stocking;. O CHAPTER IV. THE CAPITAL REQUIRED. Before going into this question it will be necessary to answer the question, What is capital? Most young men will exclaim, ie The money my father has given me to start with or, “ The money I have inherited, or expect to inherit.-” But this is a most deceptive idea of capital, as excepting in the rare cases of the young man inheriting large estates, where he has nothing to do but live off the rent-roll, or where it is so tied up that he has only to take the interest without having anything to do with managing the principal, the money inherited, unless accompanied by a thorough knowledge of the business in which it is to be emplo}7ed, will soon be lost. There is an old Birmingham saying, “ The man that begins business in his shirt-sleeves will end in his carriage. The man that begins in his carriage will end in his shirt-sleeves.” This is the case all the world over, but doubly so in the case of a man emigrating from England to the Cape, where everything is so dif¬ ferent. So that we see capital in its useful sense consists THE CAPITAL REQUIRED. 25 of other things besides a sum of money. The labourer’s capital consists in his strong sinews and early training to manual labour. The mechanic’s capital consists in .the skill he has acquired at his trade. The professional man’s capital, in the money spent on his early educa¬ tion, and during the time of his articles or college training ; it is large or small, according to his natural abilities and the use he has made of them. The mer¬ chant’s capital, in a sum of money, and general knowledge of business, and business habits. The Ostrich-farmer’s capital, in the money invested in his stock, and knowledge of Cape farming generally, and the management of birds ; the two latter being the most important. But what capital does the young Britisher, scion perhaps of some good family, well-educated, and sent out to a colony with perhaps no money, or with a few hundreds or a few thousands to his credit or in prospect — what capital does he possess? Much, but not yet in such a shape that he can make use of it. Before he can do that, he must acquire “ colonial ex¬ perience.” If he is impatient, and attempts to use the money before he has acquired this, he will almost inevitably lose it ; but if he has the patience to let this money be, as though he did not possess it, to let nobody know that he has it, till he has had at least two years’ 26 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. thorough training in farming, mercantile pursuits, or whatever course he has determined to adopt, he will then find himself in a colony offering him a better chance in the world, at the present time, than any other. Nothing in Australia, New Zealand or Canada can offer anything like the opening the Cape does to a young man, with only a few hundreds of capital, to set up for himself, if he has only had a thorough training in his business. All sorts of people in the towns, with a little spare capital over and above what they require in their business, have been investing in birds, and putting them out on the u halves,” and any young man who has made a name for himself during his novitiate, if he can only get helped with a few hundreds to enable him to hire a farm and furnish himself with the necessary plant, can get birds on the u halves/' Or should the mania for Ostrich-Farming Companies last, there will be a brisk demand for managers and assistants. It will be noticed that I lay far more stress on colonial experience than on actual technical knowledge of Ostrich-farming. It is so. The colonist born has heard Ostriches discussed of late years both in town and country, by man and woman, rich and poor, till he must be dull indeed if he has not picked up a good deal of the required knowledge — enough, at any rate, THE CAPITAL REQUIRED. 27 to make a start in a small way, especially if he has had any other farm experience. The difficulty is, how can a young man acquire this experience ? To send him out to a colony without friends or relatives to go to, with the vague instructions to make his way in the world, is cruel. Occasionally such a one may tumble on his legs by great good luck, but the chances are infinitely against him. If he has capital he will be sure to invest it foolishly. We all know what “ buying a pig in a poke ” means ; how rarely the purchaser does not find out afterwards he had better have left it alone ; and yet everything the man without experience buys is a (t pig in a poke.” The only chance for a man emigrating to the Cape to Ostrich-farm is to be well supplied with letters of introduction, if possible from relatives of well-to-do people living at the Cape ; even then he will find it no easy matter to get on a good farm, where farming is conducted on a large scale. He must then be prepared to pay £100 premium the first year, beside being ready to bnckle-to and work hard at anything — no matter what it is — to which he is set. Board and lodging he will, of course, get free, usually living in the house with the master. It is this latter that constitutes the objection farmers have to cadets, and 28 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. no wonder, with the bad household servants generally to be had at the Cape. But with experience once gained, then the advan¬ tages of the Cape are seen. Whilst in Australia or New Zealand the man with less than £5,000 or £10,000 cannot start on his own account, here a few hundreds will give him an excellent start, with the help of birds on the “ halves.” That he will have to live close and study economy at first he must expect, but do this, and, with ordinary luck at Ostrich-farming, he is a made man. CHAPTER V. FENCING. This is one of the most important subjects for the Ostrich-farmer. From the day he possesses an Ostrich, he is called upon to use his judgment as to the relative kinds best adapted to the veldt on which he is about to farm, the best suited to his means, and the labour he is able to procure. Before Ostrich-farming began, fencing in South Africa for the use of stock was an unknown thing. Farmers’ horses and working cattle had to be let loose when the day’s work was over ; and the common excuse of a farmer, when he did not keep some appointment until a day or two after the time, was that his horses were lost, whilst half a day or a day being lost at any work through the bullocks straying was of common occurrence. But now no farmer with any enterprise would dream of farming without an enclosure for these, even if he had no birds. We have often laughed when we think of our first purchase of wire, and remember the hunt we had all over Grahamstown without finding a bundle, till we came on a merchant who had had 30 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. some sent to him some years before on consignment, and which he was about shipping back as utterly un¬ saleable in the country ; and now look at the thousands of tons which are annually imported ! Efforts are constantly being made by the English manufacturers to send out complete ready-made fences, with iron standards and iron winding-posts ; but the standards always bend and break, while the fences are never high enough for Ostriches, and the cost is in¬ finitely greater than a thoroughly good fence with the hard wooden posts procurable in most parts of the country. The only really good iron standard that has ever been sent out is the hollow iron post, but its cost is prohibitive ; it is never used except by government to fence some parts of the line on the railways. But (i Massa Government — him very rich man.” The general fences in use consist of — Bush-fencing, W attle-fencing, Post and Wire, The same, with Bush Interlaced, Stone W alls. We will take these seriatim . JBush-fmcing consists simply of bush cut down and piled up to the height of a few feet, being either ridden FENCING. 31 on by a waggon, or, more often, put into convenient heaps, a chain slipped through the butts, and then dragged into position. This is, of course, the cheapest of all fences, but it is always decaying and constantly needing repairs ; in high winds, too, it is very apt to blow over and leave gaps. But where hard bush, such as prim, baboon, &c., are plentiful, close to hand, or on a hired farm, or where the bush is so thick that there is a secondary object in view, viz., getting the bush thinned out, it makes a fairly efficient fence, and is specially well adapted for young beginners. But if used to a great extent, the time comes when, from the scarcity of labour or other reasons, it cannot be kept in repair, and the farmer soon heartily wishes he had gone in for something more expensive, but more permanent ; and, if it is a fence intended to be kept up for a number of years, the constantly recurring expense of repairs will soon aggregate a larger sum than what the original cost of wire or stone wall would have been. Bush- fences made of mimosa or other soft woods will only last about six months, and are quite ineffectual for cattle. The prime cost of bush-fencing is about sixpence a vard. %/ Wattle Fences. — These are principally used on the coast lands where the bush grows high with long 32 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. branches, and where suitable light poles can be cut in the nearest kloof, and where, the ground being soft, the cost of planting the poles is not much. The poles are planted about three feet apart, and the long pliant boughs interlaced between them, and wattled to the height of about 4 feet 6 inches. It occasionally requires a little fresh wattling on the top, when it makes a good effective fence ; but is only durable till the little poles rot in the ground, and should only be used under the same circumstances as the last. The prime cost is about ninepence the yard. Wire Fencing. — This constitutes the great bulk of the fencing now done in the country. We have at present an unlimited supply of magnificent sneezewood poles, a good sound one of which, seven inches in diameter, will last a generation. It has only one draw¬ back — that birds that are unused to it, and are in a comparatively small enclosure, are apt when they take fright, especially at night, to run against it and entangle their legs in the wires. But this will never happen if the fence is erected as we shall now advise, though with any fence under the sun a bird may hurt itself by the sheer force with which it comes against it. Where the fence is required for Ostriches not younger than a year old, four wires are suffi¬ cient, and are better than a greater number. Where FEKCING. 33 cattle of different sizes, or birds, are required to be enclosed or kept out, five wires are best; or for a boundary line between two neighbours even six wires may be used ; or where it is required to fence sheep as well, seven wires are required. It is always preferable to use galvanised wire, not only for its greater durability, but because it shows out to the stock so much better. A wire fence for Ostriches should never be less than 4 feet 9 inches in height, as it then catches above the bend of the Ostrich’s neck, and stops the bird trying to get over, as it otherwise will do. A four- wire fence should be made of all No. 3 B.W.G. wire. A five-wire fence should have the three top wires No. 3, the others No. 4. In a six or seven wire fence the lower wires may be No. 5. The number of yards of wire to the ton, the sizes measured by Bir¬ mingham wire-gauge, are : — No. 3 ... ... 4,570 yards. No. 4 . 5,455 „ No. 5 . 6,580 „ But it must be borne in mind that the colonial ton is only 2,000 lbs. ; so that No. 3 wire runs two yards to the pound ; or, in other words, a colonial ton will do 800 yards of five wires of No. 3 wire. To con¬ struct a thoroughly good fence, the farmer should always purchase the best poles he can get, not less D 34 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. than seven feet long, to be put two feet in the ground, and ten feet apart. Every 400 or 500 yards, or less where there are dips in the ground, the fence should break off, and the next length commence as a fresh fence, thus : — 400 yds. 500>'de- 500 yds. 400 Jds- This is to avoid the great strain that must otherwise come by the contraction in cold weather if carried as a continuous fence. The end poles should be eight feet long, and the heaviest poles picked out for this purpose. They should be three feet in the ground, supported by a strut in front, and tied down to the foot of a short pole put deep in the ground about ten feet behind them. This tie should be made by twice threading a wire through the top of the end pole, and through the foot of the back stay pole just mentioned, this being hove tight with a crow-bar in the same manner that the transport riders tighten their wool reims. The crow-bar can be drawn out when it is tight, as the twist will not come loose. A heavy stone should be placed, partially buried, in front of the strut, the end pole, and the back stay pole. Where the holes are in rock, the end and back stay poles should always be run in with concrete, and better still if the line poles are also. Although this may sound expensive to some FENCING. 35 farmers, I can assure them it amply repays them. The wires should never be stapled to the poles, but the poles should always be bored with a brace and auger bit. The wires are best divided as under : — FOUR-WIRE FENCE, 4 FEET 9 INCHES HIGH. Lower wire, 1 ft. 9 in. from ground. Other wires, 1 ft. apart. FIVE-WIRE FENCE, 4 FEET 9 INCHES HIGH. Lower wire, 1 ft. 2. in. from ground. Next two, 10 in. apart. Next one, 11 in. „ Next one, 12 in. „ SIX-WIRE FENCE, 4 FEET 9 INCHES HIGH. Lower wire, 8 in. from the ground. Next two, 8 in. apart. Next one, 10 in. „ Next one, 11 in. „ Next one, 12 in. „ SEVEN-WIRE FENCE, 4 FEET 9 INCHES HIGH. Lower wire, 7 in. from the Next two, 6 in. apart. Next one, 7 in. 99 Next one, 8 in. 99 Next one. 11 in. 99 Next one, 12 in. 99 ground. At one end of each separate length of fencing either a 12 in. eye-bolt, or, best of all, one of Morton's patent d 2 36 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. ratchets, must be put to tighten the fencing should it at any time get slack, as it is everything with a wire fence to keep it as tight as a drum. The wire is hove up at the other end by a piece of wood with two cross¬ pieces of wood let in it, and used as a windlass. An old yoke with a hole bored through the centre of it does very well for this purpose ; the wire when tight being caught by an implement called an elbow whilst it is being taken off the windlass, and made fast round the post. If you have not an elbow the hole must be plugged, but this is always apt to slip and give trouble. One perpendicular tie of No. 5 wire connecting the wires should be put between each two posts. Care should be taken that the men do not simply take hold of an end of wire in the coil and walk away with it. The wire should be carefully uncoiled, not a turn being allowed to slip, as otherwise the wire will be weakened, and it will never come properly straight and stiff. Most workmen now understand how to join the wires. It is done by overlapping the two ends and nipping them with a screw-hammer, or with implements sold for the purpose, then twisting each end with short turns round the opposite wire with an iron with a hole in the end. Where the post-holes are in hard rock they can be cut out with a chisel-pointed steel jumper and hammer. FENCING. 37 The cost of a mile of 5 wire fence as here described will be 4,900 lbs. at 22s. 6d. 546 posts at Is. 3d. 20 Morton’s ratchets at 4s. Labour at Is. 3d. a post . 4 casks of cement at 30s. . Wear and tear of tools Moving material £ s. d. 55 2 6 34 2 6 4 0 0 34 2 6 6 0 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 £139 7 6 or Is. 7d. per yard. This appears expensive, but when put up it is a perfect fence, and should scarcely require touching for years, as a broken wire is a very rare sight. Like every other good thing, it must be paid for. When erected in ground the cost of the cement would be saved. The prices I have given are the current prices in Grahamstown at the present time. Further up country the cost of carriage of the material must be added ; whilst it must be borne in mind that labourers require tents or other accommodation, which often adds to the expense. It will be noted that the weight of wire given includes the ties, and the number of posts includes what is necessary for breaking it into lengths as before described. A 6 or 7 wire fence does not cost much more, as then lighter wires are used, and labourers 38 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. generally take the work at so much the post, irrespec¬ tive of the number of wires. But for Ostriches, the greater the number of wires above five the greater are the chances of their entangling themselves. Post and Wire with Bush interlaced . — A fair fence costing less than the last is sometimes made by putting the posts fifteen feet apart, with only three wires, and these put up roughly and slack, with bush interlaced. Of course this is nothing like the permanent fence that the last is, but it is the cheapest thing that a man out on the Karoo flats, where bush is scarce, can put up, and is often used by men who, not understanding how to put up a wire fence properly, think their birds will come to grief unless they have the interlacing bush. Stone Walls. — The great advantage of a stone wall over other dead fences is, that whilst being permanent it serves for small as well as large stock, and at the same time makes a considerable break-wind ; and on a sandstone formation, where stone of a good square shape can be procured near the site of the proposed fence, it is the best. The drawbacks to it are the time it takes to complete any considerable length of fencing ; and consequently those who want an immediate return from their capital cannot afford it, as the money laid out on the fencing, until the enclosure is completed, earns nothing. It is also always liable to fall into gaps, FENCING. 39 and is useless for goats, who jump over it. Where the stone is of a shaly nature it is useless for dry stone walls, as in a few years the stone will crumble away ; and where it is of a round bouldery nature it requires a very experienced man to pack it so that it will not fall. A wall should be four feet high, three feet at the base, and eighteen inches at the top, but if the stone is very good, the base need not be so wide as this. The great thing to look out for is that the men do not put in “ shiners ” — that is, stones showing their longest face to the front. They should put a great number of u through ” stones — that is, stones going right through from one side to the other, and the stones on the two sides of the wall should constantly overlap from one side to the other. If this is not done, although the wall may stand all right for a year or two, it will then begin to fall into gaps in all directions. The usual price for quarrying the stone and packing the wall is Is. 6d. per yard, and this usually includes the men loading the stone on and off the wagon, the farmer finding wagon and oxen, also leader and driver, who assist with the loading and off-loading. The wear and tear to wagon and oxen is great, and if the stone has to be ridden any considerable distance it will put another shilling a yard on the cost of the wall. Although, as a rule, stone walling may be con- 40 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. sidered as safe for birds as any other fence, I have known it, when built with stone from an igneous for¬ mation, to be the cause of many birds injuring themselves by kicking against the sharp points when fighting with each other on opposite sides of a wall, and I have also known serious losses to occur where birds have stam¬ peded at night, and have run with great force against it, many killing themselves. For fencing in lands and gardens it beats anything, as it keeps out porcupines and hares, which are often so destructive, especially in the sweet veldt. For little short lengths of fencing, where bush is not procurable, old tire-irons off the hind-wheels of wagons, when straightened and bolted on to sneezewood posts, make a very strong and durable fence. These can be bought from the wagon-makers for 5s. each, ready bored for three bolts ; but the fence becomes too expensive except in special cases. And the same thing applies to imported fences of bar-iron and standards, which come very expensive if high enough for Ostriches. Live fences have been very little used in the colony. The easiest grown are the American aloe and the prickly pear, but the former is liable to be destroyed by moles whilst the plants are young, and the latter is a nuisance to the birds when the fruit is ripe. Pome¬ granate, quince, and other things are often used where FENCING. 41 they can be irrigated and the soil is moist, but of course this is only the case in lands or gardens. Mutual Fencing . — By this we mean a boundary fence erected between two neighbours, each sharing the expense. All the Australasian colonies have found it necessary to legislate on this matter, to save the enterprising farmers from being deterred from fencing in their land, by the very natural feeling of not caring to bear the whole expense of erecting a fence which will benefit the adjoining neighbour equally with them¬ selves ; whilst anything that tends to deter a man from fencing in his land is not only detrimental to the individual but to the whole community. And as it is of primary importance, both to the state and to every¬ body in the country, that the land should be made to produce as much as possible, and as it is an undisputed fact that enclosed land will carry a much heavier stock than unenclosed land where the stock is herded, these countries have seen it is one of those subjects in which private rights and inclinations must be made to give way to the general weal. And seeing that the country is saved from being deteriorated when it is enclosed, whereas it rapidly deteriorates when the stock is driven about in flocks, they have all passed acts varying in detail, but all embracing the main feature, that where a farmer fences a boun- 42 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. dary line, the neighbour should be compelled to con¬ tribute half the cost. Some years ago a movement was made in the colony to get legislation on this subject, but great opposition was shown to it by the less enterprising part of the com¬ munity, and no act has succeeded in passing. Whilst we should hesitate to go the length of the Australians in compelling an unwilling neighbour to find half the necessary capital, which, if his financial position was bad, might prove ruinous, much of this difficulty w7ould have been met by allowing the man that wants to fence to find all the capital, and then to take a pre¬ ferential lien on the other man’s farm to the amount of 10 per cent, annually on the half-cost of the fence for fourteen years, by which time, if we reckon the normal rate of interest on money at 6 per cent., the extra 4 per cent, -would have formed a sinking fund, which in fourteen years would have extinguished the debt. And as the property would have been im¬ proved to a greater extent than the half cost of the fence, the mortgagees would not be affected by this lien being preferent. Or, better still, if the government were to advance the money on these terms, as it now does on irrigation works, which are much more liable to destruction, and probably of less advantage to the country than fencing. FENCING. 43 It is often urged that the fencing of a particular boundary line may be of more advantage to one farm than another : it often is so, but any hardship on this score could be met by the unwilling party having the right to call in arbitrators to decide on the relative portions of expense each farm should bear. Another suggestion which has been made, is that the unwilling man should not be called upon for his half the expense unless he used the fence as part of an enclosure, or made some other fence abutting on to it. It would have been wise if this scheme had been ac¬ cepted, as then the most sensitive could not have feared that there would be any oppression towards the poorer or unwilling man. As it is, whole tracts of country lie unfenced and producing little or nothing towards the general wealth of the country, which would otherwise have been fenced and have become highly productive. It is found in practice that neighbours seldom agree as to erecting a mutual boundary fence ; in con¬ sequence the fencing man is driven to fence a few yards inside his boundary, with the object of compelling his neighbour to share the expense before he can make use of the fence. This, if it continues, will, in the course of time, bring endless disputes as to where the boundaries of the farms are. Where the cost of the fence is to be mutually 44 OSTRICH- FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. borne, the one that undertakes to erect the fence should be very careful to have the following points settled before he does so : — First, that the boundary stones as standing shall be admitted as correct ; this is highly essential, as in a long boundary line some of the stones are sure not to be in line, and after the fence is erected the other man might refuse payment on the grounds that the fence was not where it ought to be. We knew a case in point, where, after the fence was erected, the man not only refused payment, but by a law-suit com¬ pelled his neighbour to take up the fence on the grounds that it was a few feet out, and to again erect it in terms of his contract. Second , the nature and quality of the fence should be clearly defined, and it should also be stated that the one half is to stand immediately on one side of the beacon stones, and the other half on the opposite side, each party being bound to keep in repair the part that stands on his own land. Third , it should be stated in the contract that any slight unintentional divergence from the true line shall not be disputed, and that as long as the spirit of the contract has been fairly acted up to there shall be no dispute. Unless these points are conceded, a man had much better fence inside his boundary at his own cost CHAPTER VI. THE PROFITS FROM OSTRICHES. What return do birds give on the capital invested ? This would be the first question asked by any one thinking of going in for farming. It is a question very few even of those that have been at it some years could answer, and of which the public have the most wild ideas, or else the promoters of the joint-stock companies that have been lately started in all directions would never have the barefacedness to advertise prospectuses pro¬ mising the public from 40 to 100 per cent, per annum on their investment ; including in this even the capital sunk in land, buildings, dams. &c. &c., w'hich give no direct return, and which in England would represent the landlord’s investment, and which is subject to scarcely any risk, the fencing, buildings, wagons, &c., being the only part subject to natural decay. A return on the whole of this part of the capital of 15 per cent, per annum would be a good return. Now where the private individual or company com¬ bine both ownership and occupation, it may be taken that the dead capital, i.e.y that which will give no direct 46 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. return, is a half of the total investment under indifferent management, or where the buildings, &c., are of a solid, permanent kind, and the future is looked to as well as the present ; or a third, where the screw is put on, and the improvements are not of such a permanent character. No doubt this statement will make many farmers who are not in the habit of keeping books, and looking carefully into things, exclaim “ Nothing of the sort.” To such I say, sit down, price and total up the cost of everything employed, and you will be astonished. At any rate, taking the prospectus now before me of a company lately successfully floated in Grahams- town, and for which hundreds of shares were applied for more than were available, and in wdiich the pro¬ moters promised a net return of over 40 per cent, the first year, and over 100 per cent, in subsequent years, the investment was : — Farm with buildings, fencing, &c., &c. ... £4,225 Birds and eggs . . . 5,775 Available for other purposes . 2,000 12,000 The “ available for other purposes would mean transfer dues, wagons, oxen, horses, carts, implements, current expenses, &e. So that more than one-half was THE PROFITS FROM OSTRICHES. 47 here calculated as dead capital ; consequently the birds were represented to pay, over and above expenses of management and feeding, 185 per cent, per annum. Of course the thing is absurd ; did birds pay any¬ thing like this, we should have had ere this every shopkeeper selling off his stock, hiring strips of land, and putting every penny he could get hold of into birds. That some pairs of birds will have four nests in a season, and bring out, say, twelve chicks in each nest, which might be sold for £6 each at a day old, we all know. And that this may be greatly increased by artificial hatching we know, as see the almost fabulous returns I made by this means, as given in the chapter on Arti¬ ficial Hatching, where you will see that one set of birds gave a gross return of £1,676 in one year. But that this is any criterion of what a general stock can be trusted to do, we deny. We know an estate where all the land has not been stocked, and where everything is done with a liberal hand, and in the most permanent style, which has averaged for the last six years a net return of 30 per cent, per annum on the total investment, including cost of land and all improvements. As also one which, for the four years 1872, 1873, 1874 and 1875, averaged a net return on the capital invested of 66J per cent, per annum ; but in this latter case the land was hired, 48 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. everything was studied to lessen the amount of the dead capital, and the expenses were pared down to the lowest possible shilling, whilst the farmer worked terribly hard with both hands and head, and thoroughly understood liis business. But this was before “ fever” in the chicks was known, and when ostriches altogether were healthier, and kept their condition with less feeding. Even then the returns varied exceedingly : thus, whilst in 1872 the net profits were considerably over 100 per cent., in 1873 and 1874 they were under 50 per cent. One of the best items of profit to a farmer is the increased value of his troop of plucking birds. Thus a bird twelve months old, value say £22, would be at four years old worth £50, besides having given on an average £12 a year in feathers ; so that, allowing a loss of 10 per cent, per annum in deaths, the return is grand. Each bird should give one pound weight of feathers, if plucked as advised in the chapter on Plucking. There should be fifty quill feathers : this includes, say, four fancy-coloured in each wing. The tails vary exceedingly in the number of feathers — from 75 to 100. A good average all round is, say, quills, 5 ounces; tail, 5 ounces ; blacks or drabs, 6 ounces. CHAPTER YII. BIRDS ON THE HALVES. The system of farming birds on the halves is now so general, that the leading features of it are familiar to most people at the Cape, but in detail agreements vary much; many even take them without any written agreement, but this is a most objectionable practice. We now give examples of fair agreements at the present time, in both the cases of breeding birds and plucking birds. BREEDING BIRDS. Agreement made and entered into between Mr. A., on the first part, and Mr. B., on the second part, by which — 1. The first-named agrees to lend the second-named two pairs of guaranteed breeding Ostriches, to be farmed by the second- named on the halves. That is, Mr. B. is to find grazing, and to bear all and every expense connected with the birds. 2. The birds to remain, as now, the sole property of Mr. A. 3. The proceeds of all sale of l eathers to be equally divided by Mr. B. within one mouth of each sale, and original account sales submitted by him to Mr. A. 4. Any chicks from these birds to be sold by Mr. B. between the ages of three and six months, but only at such price us Mr. A. shall consent to. If not sold when six months old, then to ba E 50 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. sold by public auction in the Y - a public market, to which place he shall bring them, and the proceeds equally divided. 5. In the event of the death or loss of any of these birds, Mr. B. shall pay to Mr. A., within two months of such death or loss, the half value of the same, the value of a cock bird being agreed to be £ , the value of a hen bird £ 6. On or about the first day of each calendar month, Mr. B. shall send to Mr. A. a report in wilting of the state of his venture, answering therein any reasonable questions Mr. A. may have submitted to him. 7. Any breach of this contract to be held good and sufficient grounds for the aggrieved party to cancel the same, without notice, irrespective of any other remedy he may seek. 8. This agreement to cease on six months’ notice being given on either side. 9. In any place where Mr. A. is here named, it shall be taken to mean himself or his duly appointed substitute. Done at Witnesses to ( C. Signatures (D. this day of Signed (A- 18 These agreements are often for a term of years, and B. no doubt would prefer this ; but A. often finds he has been mistaken in his man, that the birds are doing’ badly, and his investment is a bad one, when he will be very glad to avail himself of the six months’ notice we have above provided for. On the other hand, if B. makes them do well, he may be sure A. will be only too glad to leave them with him. We will now consider an agreement for, let us say, fifty birds, one year old. This is a matter requiring BIRDS ON THE HALVES. 51 more consideration. We have known some cases of a man signing an agreement rashly, and afterwards finding that he was liable to replace, out of the feather money, any deaths, not by birds of the same age as those he took over, but by birds of the same age as those that died ; whilst he was getting no interest on the increased value of the remainder : so that since the birds would give about the same feather return the first year as the last, any death the first year' would only take about £20 of the feather money to make good ; whilst the last year, since he would have to make good a four-year-old bird, it would take £50. So that, although he might do well the first two years, if he had many deaths the last two he would be ruined. In fact, if he had only ordinary luck with them, he would find at the end of his term he had cleared nothing. But we do not advise either party to have any¬ thing to do with replacing the birds that die. Let them be paid for, as they die, out of the feather money; and when a number are dead, it is open for them to make a fresh agreement for another lot. This keeps the transaction simple, whilst the other will be found in practice to open the flood-gates to trickery and misunderstanding. We here give an agreement on this plan : — 52 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. Agreement made and entered into between Mr. A., on the first part, and Mr. B., on tlie second part, by which — 1. The first-named agrees to lend the second-named fifty ostriches, averaging in age one year, to be farmed by the second-named on the halves — that is, Mr. B. is to find grazing and to bear all and every expense connected with the birds. 2. The birds to remain, as now, the sole property of Mr. A. 3. The value of these birds is agreed between the above- named parties to be twenty pounds sterling each. 4. That the proceeds of all feathers sold from these birds shall be equally divided by Mr. B. within one month of such sale, who shall submit to Mr. A. original account sales of such feathers: provided that, before any such division of money, Mr. B. shall pay out of it to Mr. A. the sum of £20 for every bird that has died or been lost up to that date ; and if such feather money is not sufficient to pay for all so deficient, the remainder shall be made up out of the next feather sales. 5. That a bird shall be deemed lost after it has been missing one calendar month; but should it afterwards be recovered, Mr. A. shall refund to Mr. B. £10 sterling for such bird. 6. On or about the first day of each calendar month Mr. B. shall send to Mr. A. a report in writing of the state of his venture, answering therein any reasonable questions Mr. A. may have submitted to him. 7. This agreement to terminate three years from the date thereof. At its expiration Mr. B. shall deliver the birds to Mr. A. in Y - a, to be sold by him at auction on the public market, who shall pay to Mr. B. one-third of whatever they may net over and above £20 each. 8. Any breach of this contract to be held good and sufficient grounds for the aggrieved party to cancel the same, irrespective of any other remedy he may seek. 9. In any place where Mr, A. is here named, it shall be taken to mean himself or his duly-appointed substitute. BIRDS ON THE HALVES. 53 10. In tlie event of any deaths or losses of the birds after the last sale of feathers, or any deficiency at the last sale to meet former losses, Mr. B. shall pay to Mr. A. the sum of £10 sterling for such bird so deficient. 11. The feathers not to be taken oftener than once in eight months. Done at this day of 18 Witnesses to f C. Signatures 1 D Vitnesses to f Signatures \ We have here supposed that the farmer is to get a share in the increased value of the birds when sold ; we know that this is not general, but we do not see that he has a fair chance of benefiting himself unless he gets this, at any rate not in proportion to the risk he runs. Allowing for those that die having given no feathers, or only a few, we cannot safely reckon on more than £12 a head return all round, which would give £600 ; but taking 10 per cent, to be a fair average for deaths and losses, this will take off £100, leaving £250 each for the year’s return, but out of his share the farmer will have to pay all expenses. But supposing present prices to be maintained, at the end of the three years the birds would be worth £50 each. Now, allowing 10 per cent, per annum for deaths, there would be thirty-seven birds to sell, which would give £1,111 more than the original cost; and if the farmer got a third, he would have £370 to receive. It would then have paid him handsomely. CHAPTER VIII. FARMING PARTNERSHIPS. We do not advise any one to try starting on his own account with less stock than we have given in our last chapter. If he has not the capital and cannot get birds on the halves, his only other resource is to take a partner. If he can get a sleeping partner who is willing to put in, say, £2,000 against his £500 and services as manager, he is inhnitely better off than if he took birds on the halves, because he will then have to give up only half the net earnings, in the place of half the gross earnings if the birds are on the halves ; and yet it may answer the sleeping partner quite as well, as he then has a voice in the management, and his birds will not suffer for want of liberal treatment, as is so often the case where an impecunious man has the birds on the halves. Even if he cannot get one man to put in £2,000, he may get four men to put in £500 each, when each of these will get an eighth of the net earnings. This to a certain extent constitutes a company, but with the great pull in their favour that the managing partner, having the greatest interest of any of them in the FARMING PARTNERSHIPS. 55 success of the concern, will require no supervision ; all that the sleeping partners need do is to look into the books and see that they get their due portion. There are no brokers’ fees, no outlay on huge advertisements of the prospectus, no promotion money, no secretary to pay, and no directors’ fees, and, above all, no swindling by shareholders and directors slipping in stock or stores at an outrageous price. It is partnerships like this that have proved so pre-eminently successful in wool-growing in Australia. Another kind of partnership which is likely to be¬ come much more general is : — A. owns a suitable farm, which he gives rent-free for the use of a partnership between himself and B., as a set-off against B.’s services as manager, each putting in half the working capital ; but B. has only £500, and the half-capital would be £1,250. A. therefore agrees to advance the £750 B. is short of, taking his bills at one, two, and three years, bearing interest at 6 per cent, per annum. We have personally known this kind of partnership to work with the greatest success. B. thoroughly understands his business, or else A. would have had nothing to do with him ; therefore the more A. leaves him alone the better. But this just suits A., who has got his own business to attend to. A. should, however, guard himself by registering the concern under the Limited Liability Act, 56 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. and sliould provide in the partnership deed that no joint promissory note shall be given, or mutual debt incurred, and no stock bought or sold, except by joint consent. A. being the owner of the land can consent to take over from the partnership, at its expiration, any im¬ provements at one-half their value. By this means he enables B. to provide the birds with proper accommoda¬ tion, whilst he guards against B. being extravagant by the quarter loss he would sustain. It also gives B. an incentive to stick to the partnership for its full period, by the loss of all claim to compensation for improve¬ ments that its termination earlier would entail. A. should further guard himself by stipulating that any infringement of the deed, ipso facto , constitutes full grounds for the aggrieved party to break up the partnership if he thinks fit, irrespective of any other remedy he may seek. The deed should also state that B. is to reside on the farm, and give his whole and undivided attention to managing it, agreeing not to engage in any other occupation ; also that B.’s household expenses are to be borne by himself. In fact, it should be as precise as possible, leaving no loopholes for future misunderstanding. But another, and apparently the simplest kind of partnership, namely, that where two men put their FARMING PARTNERSHIPS. 57 money together and jointly farm on the same farm, we cannot advise, except where they are brothers, or are as brothers. With mercantile or professional men the thing is feasible, and of course is daily done, but then they do not have to live in the same house, they only meet at the office, when each has his own department, and clashing is thus avoided. All they need is to be agreed as to the general manner in which their business shall be conducted, and then to use mutual forbearance in carrying it out. But in farming it is impossible to avoid almost hourly clashing ; and besides this, they will be living together, which greatly increases the chances of disagreement. Man and wife often find it difficult to rub along smoothly, with their two spheres of labour so utterly distinct ; and two men living in the same house, and farming together, are in nearly as close union, with all the favourable circumstances of agreement removed. If one is older, and has more experience than the other, and the younger agrees in the deed to let the voice of the senior be final in all matters, it may work ; without this, you might as well put two captains in com¬ mand of one ship and think they would agree. CHAPTER IX. TRAVELLING WITH BIRDS. Young beginners often meet with great trouble, and sometimes serious loss, in removing their birds, after purchasing, from a want of knowledge of how to manage them. At all times, with the most experienced men, remov¬ ing birds where they have been long in camps and have become unused to strange sights and sounds, is a matter of anxiety, forethought and patience, especially the first two days’ journey, though after that time the birds get accustomed to it, and there is little difficulty, unless dogs are met with and chase them. With birds of all ages, a man should walk in front with a bag of mealies, dropping a few as he goes along, and calling to the birds, the other men driving on behind being armed with light thorn-bushes, which are infinitely superior to whips, as, if the birds take fright and try to turn back, the thorn-buslies turn them where whips are useless ; besides, whips spoil the plumage and are apt to catch in the birds’ legs and throw them down, especially when the whips get wret. TRAVELLING WITH BIRDS. 59 With chicks and troops of plucking birds there is little difficulty ; the main danger is at night, when, if put into a strange kraal or enclosure they are apt to take a panic and rush against a fence, injuring themselves. If the journey is for more than two days the traveller should have a wagon or cart, carrying grain and going in front ; they then become attached to it, and by turning out of the road at night and camping, the birds will lie quietly round and the risks of strange kraals are avoided. Birds stand travelling very well, and will keep up their 25 to 30 miles a day without feeling it ; but they should not be taken out of a walk, and should be liberally fed with grain, say three or four pounds a day each. If the journey is short, and time is pressing, they can be taken from 40 to 50 miles a day, when they can be taken at a good swing for miles at a stretch down¬ hill or on level ground, but if pushed whilst going up-hill they soon knock up and become dangerously distressed. Persons should be very careful of trying to remove birds that have been long in a garden or small en¬ closure where they do not see other stock, or wild bucks ; such birds when taken out will sometimes take a terrible panic, and run till they drop down dead or paralysed. Such a case happened last year in Grahams- 60 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. town, where a man tried to remove 18 birds that had been reared and kept in a small yard. I had been consulted by one of the parties about it, and had told them that the thing was impossible without first getting them into a strong paddock and letting them for a month or two get thoroughly accustomed to strange sights ; it was, however, attempted without, when what I predicted happened : the birds at once bolted in every direction, and only six were ever recovered that lived afterwards ; some ran till they dropped dead, others killed themselves against fences, and others dropped down, and although they lived for days never stood up again. Breeding birds are the worst to remove, from having been in their small camps ; they are always rather timid, and, where more than one pair has to be removed at a time the difficulty is increased by their fighting. If there is a camp round the homestead, or even a good kraal, they should be brought there in pairs, and then, all being more or less timid at the strange place, they will not be nearly so likely to fight seriously. By keeping them there for twenty-four hours and working with them, much time is often saved, and the birds do not throw themselves back in breeding, as they invariably do if they get raced about much in moving. To move a pair of breeding birds that have been long TRAVELLING WITH BIRDS. 61 camped c It, at least four men should be employed, all armed with bushes, and one of them at least mounted. Sometimes a bird will become frightened at a gate¬ way, and will not pass it ; it should then be caught by the neck by one man, another man on each side seizing it and pushing it along, when it can be taken anywhere. Hobbling and all other like practices are quite unnecessary, and constantly result in the serious in¬ jury or death of the bird. The great secret is to take things quietly, and never to gallop after a bird ; when he “ scricks ” and runs away, if you can cut him off and turn him, well and good ; but novices often gallop after a bird, when the harder they gallop the harder the bird goes and the greater fright he gets; whereas, if they had got off their horses and lit their pipes first, they would generally have found the bird had only gone a short distance, and was waiting for them. Much harm is often done by impatience. Con¬ stantly at first a bird will not come through the gate of its enclosure, and force is used, instead of coaxing ; the bird is thu3 frightened, and gives much trouble. CHAPTER X. STOCKING A FARM. We will suppose a young man, a bachelor, has gone through his novitiate on some farm, has cut his wisdom teeth, and has £2,500 to invest. How had this capital be best invested ? We will suppose he has decided to try up-country and not on the coast, the capabilities of which for birds have yet to be proved ; but should it prove that the birds will remain in health on the coast, a much smaller farm than is given below would be sufficient. A farm of, say, 3,000 to 4,000 acres of suitable land, with good permanent water, with some sort of a house and a couple of outbuildings, has been leased for five years at, say, a rental of £150 a year. It has probably been used for cattle, there is a kraal, there is plenty of bush near the homestead and in other parts, but there are no camps. The first thing is to buy a cart and six oxen, a few simple articles of furniture and cooking utensils, a couple of horses, a dozen cows and a bull, fifty head of poultry, provisions and rations for four or five men, axes, and a few carpentering tools, &c. ; with these our STOCKING A FARM. 63 friend tracks on to the farm. His first difficulty will be to get men, but having succeeded in this, he sets to and makes a bush enclosure, say 300 yards square. He should then purchase, say, fifty young birds a year old; these he will have herded by day, and put in his enclosure at night. His next step will be to com¬ mence, say, a line of six breeding camp3 — of course, if possible, taking advantage of anything in the shape of a natural fence — these should be not less than 300 yards square ; as he completes them he can purchase, say, four pairs of thoroughly good breeding birds, and two pairs of three or four year olds. He should now purchase an incubator, not necessarily large, but the best kind he can get ; as, even if he does not mean to incubate as a regular thing, every farmer should have one as a stand-by, in case of accidents. If he has a neighbour with a family, he will probably be able to get his supply of meat from him. Our friend will now be started, and his capital will be invested somewhat as under : — Cart and gear ... 6 Oxen 12 Cows 1 Bull . Poultry ... . ... . Furniture, gun, tools, provisions, servants’ rations, plougli, &c. £40 60 144 10 6 120 64 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. 2 Horses, saddles, and bridles . 40 1 Incubator . . 40 Cash in hand for wages and petty . 40 500 50 Young birds ... . ... 1,000 4 Pairs good guaranteed breeders . 800 2 Pairs -year-old birds . ... 200 Total 2,500 It will be seen here that the capital over and above that invested in the birds is a fifth of the total ; bnt if he was on veldt, where the bush is scarce, he would have to go in, at any rate partially, for wire, which would bring this item up to a quarter of the whole, and correspondingly reduce his returns. There will be considerable saving of labour after the wire is once up, but this will probably be counterbalanced by the greater liability to accidents with wire. What shall we say as to the returns our friend may expect? This we have partially answered in another chapter, where we have given the case of a man under somewhat similar circumstances, who made in one year a net profit of over a hundred per cent., and over a considerable number of years made an average of 66J per cent. ; and in his case he had scarcely any bush, and was compelled to use wire. But he worked with both hands and brain in a manner few would be found THE OSTEICH (STEUTHIO STOCKING A FARM. 65 to do ; and honesty compels us to say that, owing to the greater prevalence of disease in birds, and other causes, we doubt whether the same man under the same circumstances could do it now. But let us suppose the commoner case of a young man who has only got £500 to invest, but is pro¬ mised birds on the halves. We should then advise him to invest his capital as in the first £500 in the former case, and to get on the halves a proportion of breeding and feather birds as there described. Breed¬ ing birds, where they succeed, undoubtedly pay in¬ finitely the best ; but the risk is correspondingly greater, and every man should have a moderate troop of plucking birds to meet the rent and expenses in case of a bad season with the breeders. Of course, with birds on the halves our young friend has got a tough up-hill game to fight, but u Faint heart never won fair lady,” or a fortune. As soon as our friend has got his birds comfortably located on his farm, he should commence a camp of say 1,000 acres in which to put his plucking birds, and so have them to a considerable extent off his hands by the time his first chicks come. A farm of the size we have named is more veldt than he will require at first, but he must have room for future increase, and nothing will damage his chance F 66 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. of success more than being cramped up. If the sight of part of it lying idle grieves him, he could take oxen on to graze. If possible, let him select a farm that has on it especially plenty of spec boom and carl prickly pear. Without these, the first severe drought that comes, if mealies are scarce, will play havoc with his farming. CHAPTER XI. MANAGING A TROOP OF PLUCKING BIRDS. Ostriches are generally designated as chicks up to seven or eight months old, or as long as they have still got their first crop of feathers on. From then till a year old, they are called young birds. From one to four years old, they are called plucking or feather birds. The next two years they are properly designated as four and five year old birds ; but in advertisements of sales and prospectuses of companies they are often called breeding birds, but this is only a trick to swell the appearance of the thing. We have heard of cases of men buying birds as breeding birds, thinking they were buying birds that had already bred, and finding afterwards that they were only four or five yrear old birds that had not yet bred, and were consequently only worth about half what they gave. Birds that have been paired off in separate camps, but have not yet bred, are often called “camped-off birds.” As they may be camped off at any age, the term conveys very little information, though four years old is the usual age for camping them off. After they have bred they F 2 68 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. become u guaranteed breeders/'’ and have changed their designation for the last time. The distinguishing marks of the different ages are somewhat as follows, though it must be borne in mind that a very forward bird of one age will have many of the marks of the age above him, whilst a backward bird will have many of the marks of the age below. Six-and-a-half months old. — The quill feathers will be ready to cut ; some of the body feathers will have begun to change ; some of the cocks will show yellow in the front of the legs. Twelve months old. — The second growth of quill feathers should be showing ; some of the cocks should begin to show black feathers ; all cocks should show white on legs and bill. Tivo years old . — All the chicken feathers should have gone from the back, and the cocks should show quite black, or nearly so. Most of the little white belly feathers should have been replaced by blacks or drabs, according to sex. O Three years old.-— There should not be a single chicken feather to be found on the body ; the last place from which they disappear is where the neck joins the body. Every vestige of the white belly feathers has gone. The bird’s plumage has reached perfection ; some of the cocks will be red in front of the leg and on the bill. MANAGING A TllOOP OF PLUCKING BIRDS. 69 Four years old. — The birds have reached maturity. The breeding organs are fully developed ; the cocks in season will have the back sinews of the leg pink, the front of the leg and the bill scarlet, and much of the fineness of the feet, the leg, and the lines of the body will have gone. Five years old and ujpivards. — The only distinguishing marks we know are a generally coarser look of the limbs and body, and an increased coarseness of the scaling in front of the legs and feet. Up to twelve months old the birds should be treated as chicks, being herded and fed with one pound each of either wheat, barley, or Kaffir corn, shedded in wet weather, and green food cut up for them when the veldt is dry. After this age they can be put in a large camp, of not less than ten acres to a bird, of ordinary South African veldt, and left to shift for themselves; but an opportunity should be selected for doing this when the veldt is in prime order, and even then they will be very apt to take to hanging up and down the fence nearest the homestead, and will require to be partially herded for a time in the camp. For the next two years they will require watching, and, if the veldt should get dry, to be fed; each year as they get older they will get more robust, and better able to stand hardship and scarcity of food. Up to three 70 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. years old they often suffer terribly from internal para¬ sites, and occasionally, especially if food is scarce, require to be physicked ( see Diseases, &c.). If your fences are good, once a fortnight is quite often enough to muster them. Every farmer should keep a stock book, and carefully note the count in each camp. Trusting to memory is uncertain; a bird is taken out for some reason, or some are sold, or one dies, and these are very apt to be for¬ gotten, and much trouble and uncertainty as to what the count should be is thus caused. The days of cutting the feathers or pulling the stumps of every bird on the farm should be carefully noted in a book. If this is not done the feathers will be very apt to be left a few days too long, and be consider¬ ably damaged ; or else, perhaps, in a very busy season, much time will be lost by getting the birds up to pluck, and then finding that the feathers are not ready. BRANDING. Every bird should be branded with the owner’s ini¬ tials in large letters of about four inches. The branding- iron should not be more than an eighth of an inch broad on the burning edge. If many birds are to be branded there should be three irons, to ensure their being red- hot. The birds should be put in the plueking-box, and MANAGING A TROOP OF PLUCKING BIRDS. 71 a few mealies thrown to them to attract their attention from the operator, when no holding will he required. The irons being red-hot, they only require to be applied and removed almost instantaneously, and then a dab of oil should be put on the place. The mistake that is generally made is keeping the iron on too long, thus destroying the skin and making a sore. On a large establishment there should be an age-brand as well. Pieces of fencing-wire twisted into any required shape make the best branding-irons that can be used for either age or quality branding. Every plucking time, any extra well- feathered bird should receive a private brand, and every particularly inferior one another. This can also be done by notching the toes with a file ; but these will grow out in time. Birds can be branded when a few months old, but the skin is then very thin, and the operation must be done with care. When the birds are three years old, some of the hens will endeavour to get out of the camp and go off, generally in a northerly direction ; and it is astonishing what places they will get through at this time, though up to this period if bred on the farm a very moderate fence will have sufficed. But where up-country birds are brought coast-wise, for months they will try their utmost to get away northwards — sticking to the north 72 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH- AFRICA. fence of their camp, starving and fretting, and at last compelling the farmer to herd them in their camp. In the fearful droughts to which every part of South Africa is more or less subject, there will occasionally come a time when on the very best of veldt there is little for the birds to eat, when even the spec boom shrivels and seems to lose its sustaining power as food ; under these circumstances grain alone will not keep the birds in a healthy condition. And it is in these times that the farmer with plenty of carl prickly pear reaps the advantage, as he can then bring the plucking birds into smaller camps, and either with large butchers’ knives, or with the machines known as Ostrich food- cutters, and which are made for the purpose, cut up once a day as much of it as they can eat. This, with a pound of grain each daily, will keep them in good trim. The prickly pear, especially the thorny kind, is a great nuisance in the summer when the fruit is ripe, as, if other food is scarce, the birds will go for the fruit and get the little thorns in their eyes, sometimes almost blinding themselves for a time ; but, if left alone, in a few days they recover, but often not before they have become terribly thin. The plucking birds should have access to water, and be well supplied with crushed bones ; if a few heaps of MANAGING A TROOP OF PLUCKING BIRDS. 73 these are thrown out in their camp, they will find them when they require the phosphates the bones contain. On the coast, or places where mangel-wurzel can be cultivated, it makes an excellent food for birds ; and where there is no prickly pear, something of the sort should always be cultivated, in case of drought or locusts coming. For the benefit of my English readers, I should ex¬ plain that “ mealies ” is the Cape name for maize or Indian corn. CHAPTER XII. TAKING THE FEATHERS. In the first days of Ostrich-farming the feathers were plucked ever}' six months, the feathers in that length of time, almost to a day, having apparently attained their full growth, but varying a little according to the condition the bird was in. I say apparently, because, although the fluffy part of the feather is at its longest, and the blood-vein in the feather will have dried as far down as the junction of the feather with the wing, yet the stalk below the skin is still alive and growing. It was soon found that this constant pulling before the feather was ripe caused it in each successive growth to become shorter, and the quill stiffer, till by the time the bird was five or six years old the feathers were of little value. But the feathers cannot be left after the blood¬ vessel has dried up as far down as the junction of the wing, as the vitality of the upper part of the feather has then gone ; and even if left for a few days after this has happened, the point will be found much injured, and the value considerably reduced. It is to enable us to take the feather at its prime, TAKING THE FEATHERS. 75 without injuring the next growth, that cutting the feathers after six months’ growth has now become an universal practice as regards the quill feathers — that is, the white and long grey, or what naturalists call the primary, secondary and tertiary feathers — the stumps being left in till ripe. As regards the blacks and tails, the practice varies considerably. The best plan is: — When the chick is seven months old, cut the quill feathers as near the wing as you can without letting the stumps bleed ; pull out two rows of the brown feathers above the quill, also two rows above and below the arm of the wing, taking care not to pull so many as to leave the skin exposed, nor yet to take the floss feathers, that is, the row of light feathers next the leg, which are of little value and greatly help to keep the bird warm. Pull out the tail. Two months afterwards pull out the quill stumps. Six months after this you repeat the process, leaving the quill feather stumps in two months each time. You thus have after the first plucking a growth of eight months for the black and drab feathers, which is no injury to them, as their points are not liable to get damaged, and they protect the quill feathers for the first four months of their growth. The tail is quite ready to pull every seven months, and this is the best thing to do ; if left till the time 76 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. comes to cut the quill feathers, it is much damaged. But if the symmetry of the bird is desired to be kept by having all its feathers ripe at one time, then the tail should be cut and stumps drawn, as with the quill feathers. But with breeding birds the stumps in the hen's tail are apt to baulk the male in pairing. Great care should be exercised in pulling the brown feathers from the young birds at the first plucking, as the skin and flesh are very tender, and the socket is apt to pull out, when a blank will be there for ever. To avoid this, the flesh should be held down with the fore¬ finger and thumb of the left hand. In drawing the quills after leaving them the two months, it will be found that they are still a little moist and slightly bloody, but it is better not to leave them longer, or the new feather will have begun to grow, and sometimes will be pulled out, having adhered to the old quill. This I believe to be the cause of blanks in the wing, which every Ostrich-farmer must have experienced. I do not speak positively as to this being the cause, but I never remember noticing blanks when I used to pluck every bird at six months old, and regularly every six months afterwards. Once in the early days I was busy plucking some chicks six months old, when another of the first begin¬ ners of bird-farming happened to pay me a visit. He TAKING THE FEATHERS. 77 was dreadfully shocked at the idea of plucking a chick under a year old. Seven months afterwards I had plucked the same birds again, and sold the feathers, netting £7 10s. a bird. With this money I went up in the Karoo country to try and purchase more birds, when I came to my friend’s house. We visited his young birds, rather older than mine, and found, in the place of a nice young crop of feathers, he had half blanks in nearly every bird, and the remainder twisted and bad. Of course, other causes may have had something to do with this, but as the birds were in good condition I have no doubt that the pulling out of the young feather which was adhering to the old one was the main cause. It is quite possible that there is something to be learnt yet about taking the feathers, and that cutting the quill allows the air to penetrate down the stump and causes it to shrink, and consequently that the socket is not kept as wide to allow of the growth of the new feather as in the ordinary course of nature, when the old feather remains in perhaps for years, and is gradually pushed out by the new feather. It is self-evident that the tame feather is not nearly so heavy or long as the wild one, but then it must be borne in mind that the Ostrich has no moulting season, it only sheds a feather now and again ; consequently the whole growing strength is thrown into a very few 78 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. feathers, whilst with the tame bird it is divided amongst the whole of the quills. This is another reason why it is better to pull the other wing feathers when the quills are cut ; the quills then get the whole growing power for their last two months, when the blacks have ceased to grow. For a large troop of birds, say 150, the best kind of plucking-box is a kraal in a fence, made of yellow wood planks nailed on to quartering, and this quartering should be bolted on to sneezewood feet. The size of the kraal should be twenty feet square and five feet high, one foot being left open at the bottom. There should be two plank doors on hinges opening on either side of the fence ; alongside this kraal, and communicating with it by a sliding door should be another kraal, only ten feet wide, with one end moveable, and made of lighter tim¬ ber, say three- quarter-inch deal: this latter kraal should also have two doors opening in different directions. The birds having been got into the large kraal, those that are wanted to be plucked or branded are picked out and put into the small kraal. The moveable end of the small kraal is brought down and the birds jammed up, when the men can stand in amongst them and pluck with the greatest impunity, one man standing outside to receive the feathers. For breeding camps, a simple kraal eight feet square, with one end moveable, is suffi- TAKING THE FEATHERS. 79 cient. A bottom along the back of the moveable end, for a man to stand on, avoids the necessity of his going in*to the birds. The best implements for cutting the feathers are the pruning-scissors with two bends in them. For draw¬ ing the stumps little sixpenny pincers are the best. In pulling the stumps or feathers, care should be taken to make the man stand ivell behind the bird, and draw them straight out. CHAPTER XIII. PREPARING THE FEATHERS FOR MARKET. Washing the feathers has been much in vo^ue of ate years, and although at first the producer un¬ doubtedly got a better price by doing so, the dealers are no longer misled by the showy appearance thus given to the feathers, but buy them by their quality, giving the preference to the unwashed article. The washed feather is apt to discolour on the voyage, and the manufacturers greatly prefer doing the washing themselves. The only feathers the grower should wash are old feathers that have got soiled and would spoil the look of the others, and occasionally tails that are heavy with mud. I shall, however, later on describe the best process for washing feathers, as the farmer should undoubtedly know how to do it, so as to prepare feathers for shows or other purposes. We will suppose that whilst plucking, the cocks wings, the hens* wings, cocks’ tails, hens’ tails, blacks and drabs have been kept separate, and have been taken to a room with tables in it. The sorter will first take in HEATHERTON FEATHER ROOM. PREPARING THE FEATHERS FOR MARKET. 81 hand the cocks’ quill feathers ; these he will — feather by feather — sort first into heaps consisting of prime whites, first whites, second whites, tipped whites, best fancy- coloured, and second fancy-coloured. He will then take each one of these heaps separately, and sort each kind into six or more lengths ; he will then proceed to tie them up in bunches according to their lengths, about twenty quills of the longest making a bunch, and rather more of the shorter ones. The second whites can all go into one bunch. The tipped whites are whites with black tips. The liens’ wings he will first sort into heaps according to their shades of colour, with a second quality heap for each shade, and then again sort each heap into lengths as with the whites. Amongst the hens’ feathers he will get some white ones, but these have not the gloss of cocks’ whites, and should be kept separate. The hens’ wings require more judgment and care in sorting to make the best of them than any others. The hens’ tails he will sort into six heaps, as fol¬ lows, and then tie up. The heaps will be : — First, whites ; second, light-coloured ; third, coloured ; fourth, dark-coloured ; fifth, short ; sixth, broken feathers. The cocks’ tails into seven heaps, namely : — three lengths of whites, one of broken feathers, and three lengths of what are called mixed tails, that is, white tails with black butts. G 82 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. The blacks and drabs should each be run into seven different lengths, with a bunch each of broken feathers, and one each of floss. The floss are the soft feathers that should not be plucked, but of which there are always some taken by accident. Care should be taken that any old chicken feathers that may get in amongst them are carefully removed, as these greatly spoil their value. The various heaps of blacks and drabs should be tied into bunches, the size being regulated by the number that can be conveniently held in the hand ; they should then be tied three or four together, with the exception of the long blacks and drabs, which are better in small bunches. It will then be found that they will nicely divide into — First, long ; second, medium ; third and fourth, two qualities of shorts ; fifth, broken feathers, and the sixth floss. The chicken feathers will sort into five qualities : — First, white chickens’, which can include any with a slight colour ; second, light-coloured chickens’ ; third, coloured chickens’ •; fourth, chickens’ tails ; fifth, dark chickens’. The sorter, having now got all his feathers tied up, should proceed to arrange his lots as he intends them to be sold. He should then frame a list, and ticket each bunch with his name and the number of the lot PREPARING THE FEATHERS FOR MARKET. 83 it belongs to. As a sample I give my last sale, tlie lot fetching £545, prices being at the time the lowest known for years. No. Bunches. Description. lbs. ozs. 1 . .. 24 .. . Prime white . ... 4 15f 2 . 5 .. • )) 55 . . ... 1 2f 3 . .. 3 .. • 55 55 . ... 0 12 4 . 5 .. • 55 55 ... 1 24 5 . .. 4 .. • 55 55 . ... 0 11| 6 . .. 2 .. • 55 55 . . ... 0 6 7 . .. 4 .. . First „ . ... 0 134 8 . 1 . „ „ . ... 0 6f 9 . .. 2 .. . Fringed „ . ... 0 13 10 . .. 2 .. * 55 55 . ... 0 7 11 . 3 .. . Seconds „ . ... 0 10| 12 . .. 1 .. . Tipped „ . ... 0 24 13 . 1 .. . Fancy-cold- . ... 0 4f 14 . 1 .. • 55 55 ••• ••• ... 0 84 15 . .. 1 .. . 55 99 •• • • • • ... 0 5| 16 . .. 3 .. . Long cold- light ... ... 0 124 17 .. 2 .. • 55 55 55 ••• ... 0 94 18 .. ,. 4 ... ' 55 55 55 ... 0 104 19 .. 1 ... 55 55 55 ••• ... 0 44 20 .. ] ... Long cold dark ... ... 0 84 21 .. 1 ... Long cold seconds ... 0 94 22 .. 7 ... White tails . ... 1 144 23 .. . 1 ... Damaged white tails ... 0 2 24 .. . 4 ... Mixed tails . ... 0 8f 25 .. . 4 ... Light „ . H|N rH O 26 .. . 1 ... Cold- „ . ... 0 4f 27 .. . 4 ... Long blacks . ... 2 4 28 .. G 2 . 15 ... Medium „ . ... 6 154 84 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. No. Bunches. Description. lbs. ozs. 29 ... 22 ... Short „ . 8 7 h 30 ... 2 ... Floss „ . 1 1 31 ... 1 ... Long damaged blacks . . . 0 If 32 ... 5 ... Long drab . 3 0| 33 ... 7 ... Medium „ . 3 13 34 ... 9 ... Short „ . 3 7 35 ... 1 ... Floss „ . 0 9 37 ... 1 ... Damaged long drab 0 2f 36 ... 8 ... Inferior short „ 3 10 38 ... 41 ... White chickens’ . 6 12| 39 ... 17 ... Light cold- „ . 3 Of 40 ... 11 ... Cold- „ . 1 10 h 41 ... 3 ... Chickens’ tails . 1 14 42 ... 18 ... Dark chickens’ . 7 14 The numbers are given here to show all the whites together, and then the feminas, &c. ; but in sending them to market it is better to arrange the numbers so that a lot of whites are followed by a lot of feminas, then a lot of whites again, then a lot of fancy colours, then whites again, and so on right through. This assists to keep the lots from being mixed upon the sale- tables, and insures the buyers seeing clearly which lot they are bidding for. It cannot be too strongly impressed on the sorter not to put broken or inferior feathers with the good ones ; not only as it is not honest, but it defeats its own end : the buyer buys nearly as much by the feel of the feather as by the look. He takes the bunches in one PREPARING THE FEATHERS FOR MARKET. 85 hand, and presses on the top of the bunch with the other; if there is a broken feather in the bunch it is at once felt. Every Ostrich-farmer should weigh his feathers before sending them to market. He can buy agate beam scales, including a set of weights, for £2, which a single feather will turn. The weights, however, must he assized, as there is no depending on them as sold. The sorter should avoid making; an unnecessary number of lots, as each lot has to turn the scale, causing a loss in many lots of nearly a quarter of an ounce. FEATHER WASHING. This is a very simple process, and can be done by the black women, but it requires careful supervision. Have two baths, put in a little washing-soda, shred into the one about a quarter of a pound of soap, and pour boiling water upon it, stirring until it is dissolved, to make a strong lather ; in the other bath put half the quantity of soap, to make a weaker lather. When the hand can be borne comfortably in the water, take a few feathers and rub them well with the hand against the side of the bath, taking care to rub towards the tip of the feather. When the dirt is pretty well out, wash them in the same way in the second bath, then plunge OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. 86 them into clear cold water to get all the soap out, then in blue water about the same strength as you use for clothes. Wring them out well, and finally put them through thick starch (the starch simply mixed with cold water). The feathers must then be shaken in the hand, out of doors in the sun and wind, until perfectly dry, when they should look snow-white. CHAPTER XIV THE ENGLISH FEATHER MARKET. We have considered in the last chapter the prepar¬ ing of the feathers for the Colonial market. But the farmer who would be thoroughly successful should use every endeavour to know as much as possible of the home markets and the final retail market, where the goods pass from the shopkeeper to the wearer. Since our arrival in England we have made it our special work to acquaint ourselves with all these, by attending the public sales, and by becoming acquainted with some of the largest shopkeepers who dress and dye the feathers, and keep shops for the sale of these articles only. As most of my Cape readers are aware, the greater part of the Cape feathers are bought up and exported by a very few men, and of these by far the largest buyers are the resident representatives of the few great English manufacturers ; where the ordinary merchant has tried exporting feathers it has generally resulted in a loss. The reason has generally been con¬ sidered a mystery, but there is no mystery about it. These men have enormous connections in many parts 88 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. of the world. The feathers as bought are all assorted abroad into cases adapted for the different markets, packed in tin-lined cases, or cases lined with prepared paper, sewn up in canvas, and shipped to England. The English sales are held monthly. The principal auctioneers are Messrs. Lewis & Peat, and Hale & Son ; the feathers catalogued by them at this month’s sale consisting of 590 cases, with a net weight of 15,769 lbs. The cases on arrival are warehoused at the warehouses in Billiter Street, where they are opened, and the feathers exposed on tables with wire divisions to sepa¬ rate each lot, one long table under the windows being reserved for intending purchasers to examine the feathers on. The warehouses are open for a few days before the sale, and intending purchasers go with their catalogues, the great dealers examine and fix their valuations on every case, the smaller buyers only valuing those cases that are likely to suit their wants. On entering the warehouse the visitor is taken in charge by one of the attendants, who remains with him as long as he is in the building, and carries any lots he wishes to examine from the feather tables to the table under the windows. The sales are held at the (i Commercial Sale Rooms,” Mincing Lane ; but we cannot do better than give the notice and conditions as published on the catalogues, viz. : — THE ENGLISH FEATHER MARKET. 89 jfor public IE3 "V X_i E w IS cS^ I* 1 2 3 4 5 6 E -A_ T AT THE LONDON COMMERCIAL SALE ROOMS, iOn Wednesday, May 18th, 1881, AT ELEVEN O’CLOCK, THE FOLLOWING GOODS, VIZ. ; - 30tl p“eei } OSTRICH FEATHERS LONDON PRODUCE BROKERS’ ASSOCIATION’S PUBLIC SALE CONDITIONS. CONDITIONS. 1. — The highest bidder to be the purchaser; and if any dispute arise the lot shall be put up again, or settled by a show of hands, unless left to the decision of the Selling Broker. 2. — All Brokers who do not declare their Principals in writing within three days after the sale, and those who may purchase for Principals not satisfactorily known to the Selling Broker, will be held responsible as the Principals, and obliged themselves to pay for the goods so bought. The biddings of parties who have been defaulters at previous Sales will not be taken. 3. — Goods to be taken at Dock original working weights, with all faults, errors in count or description, as they now are in the Warehouses, where they will be considered at the risk of the Sellers against fire (to the amount of the Contract value only) until the prompt day, unless previously paid for. 4. — Prompt as printed. Payment on delivery of warrants or order, if required. 5. — Lot money as customary, to be paid to the Selling Broker, whether bought at or after the Sale. Buyers to pay rent from the expiration of the prompt, with re-housing or re -warehousing. 6. — In the event of the non-fulfilment of the Sale Conditions, the Goods may be re-sold immediately, either by Public Sale or Private Contract at the option of the Selling Broker, and all losses, charges, interest of money or any other damage that may arise, shall be made good by the defaulted and for which he will be liable to be sued. Prompt Fourteen Days. Without Discount. 90 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. The feathers are put up at per lot as catalogued, the bidding being in advances of £2 10s. a bid on the larger lots, and £1 a bid on the smaller cases. The auctioneer sits on a raised dais, with two assistants on either side, the company being in front of them on seats rising tier upon tier. The chief assistant generally starts the lot at something far below its value, as, for instance, a case worth ,£250 he will start by crying out, u £150 on my side ; ” the assistant on the other side catches a look from a buyer, and shouts, u 52 10 my side ; ” the other assistant catches a sign from a bidder — perhaps nothing more than a sign with his penholder — and shouts, “ 55 my side ; ” and so on, till the bidding stops, and the lot is knocked down, when the assistant who got the last bid shouts out, u My buyer/* or some such expression, and writes down his name in his list. In no case is the name of the purchaser disclosed. To prevent mistakes, especially where two bidders are sitting close together, the assistant who took the last bid gives a glance at the man he booked the lot down to, and gets an answering glance back to make sure he is right. A great many lots are bought in, and the old hands in many cases know when it is so, and pass their remarks freely. Judging from what I have seen, I should say very few of our best feathers ever go on the public sales, and THE ENGLISH FEATHER MARKET. 91 that the principal reason why the ordinary Cape mer¬ chant loses by exporting feathers and selling them on the London sales is a want of knowledge in making up the cases to suit the retail dealer. Taking the lot I here give out of the catalogues — Ex “ Trojan ” LOT Mark Nos. Bdls. lbs. ozs. 390 1 case 15 2 0 wliite 20 3 5,, 9 2 4 3rd wliite 17 2 7 white and light fem 8 11 light femina 13 16 femina 8 10 3rd femina 4 0 15 light Spadona 3 0 5 femina Spadona 11 0 14 wliite Boos 4 0 10 femina Boos 4 0 6 drab Boos 7 0 13 long and med black qty 6 10 med and short „ 5 0 14 long and med drab qty 3 10 med and short „ 28 8 Sold for - - £200 the first, fourth, fifth and tenth lines might suit a west-end retailer, whilst he could do nothing with the other lines; whilst a retailer from a manufacturing 92 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. town might do with the cheaper lines, but could do nothing with the best lines. Or in the lots made up of one kind of feather only, the quality in the same case varied so much that only in exceptional cases could the same retailer make use of all the feathers it contained. The consequence of this is, to play directly into the hands of middlemen by keeping the retail dealer out of the public sales, and leaving it to middle¬ men to buy there, and, by re-sorting the feathers, to suit the retail dealer with the article his particular locality consumes. It would be much to the advantage of the Ostrich- farmer if Cape merchants generally would study this subject more, and learn how to make up cases to suit the various retailers, so that they would acquire the habit of coming more to the London market instead of buying from the middleman, whose profits mean so much taken out of the pockets of the Cape farmer and merchant. The great complaint against our Cape feathers is a want of fulness, closeness, and breadth of fluff of the lower part of our feathers, as well as a want of weight at the tip. But we have seen many parcels of Cape feathers that would compare favourably with the best Barbary feathers, and if this complaint against our feathers were more generally known by THE AUTHOR’S FEATHI THE ENGLISH FEATHER MARKET. 93 our growers, selection of the breeding birds would soon remedy it. At the present time the demand is not so much for length of feather as for this fulness of fluff ; and the immense difference this makes in the value of different parcels to the retail dealer can be readily seen when we consider that with thin feathers it will take three — one on the top of the other — to make a good hat-feather, whilst with thick feathers it will only take two. The present fashions all run on light dyed feathers, such as orange and blue, the colour being deep at the base and gradually getting lighter at the top, white feathers being scarcely worn at all. Within the last few months a process has been discovered by which the natural colouring of our feinina and fancy-coloured feathers can be extracted, and there is an establishment in London where you can send feathers and have the colouring removed for £5 a pound. It is this that has caused the great drop in white feathers, whilst dark goods have kept up their price. We personally supply several dealers in different parts of the world with feathers, either grown by our¬ selves or bought from other growers. Anyone interested in feathers can communicate with us. CHAPTER XV. SELECTING AND MANAGING THE BREEDING BIRDS. The young beginner should avoid buying at large sales which are constantly held in the towns all over the colony. They are nearly all birds bought up cheap by speculators, owing to some fault, and the most bare¬ faced swindling is practised. I have heard of more than one case of men buying guaranteed breeders, where they have both turned out cocks. And where you see birds advertised as being four and five years old, they are seldom more than two-and-a-half to three- and-a-half years. Yet the prices given at these sales are generally in excess of what the beginner would give if he went to some well-known breeder, whose word he could perfectly rely on, and got a pair of good breeders that would probably have a nest within a month or two. The men that should buy at these sales are- men in large way, with great experience, but these are just the men that are the most chary. Of course, these remarks on sales do not apply to farmers’ stocks being sold off, or when the birds are known. The present SELECTING AND MANAGING THE BREEDING BIRDS. 95 price of a good pair of guaranteed breeders — that is, a pair that have been breeding together — is about £200, but the beginner should get birds that have not only had one nest, but should, if possible, get birds that have bred for two or three seasons, and have had not less than three nests each season. He may not always be able to get guaranteed breeders, in which case he should buy good four-year-old birds, which he should get for £100 to £130 a pair. If they have been well nourished as young birds, and are well forward, the cock with a deep scarlet in front of his legs and round the eyes, and the back sinews of the leg pink, with generative organ thoroughly developed, and that of the hen large, soft, and sticky, he can then pretty safely rely on their breeding that season. The term “guaranteed breeders’’ is so universally used now to designate birds that have had nests, that any purchaser who had bought birds sold under this designation, without any further questions being put and answered, and which he could afterwards prove had never bred, would have no difficulty in law in recovering full damages. But supposing an unscrupulous person to sell as “guaranteed breeders” two birds, both of which have bred, but not together as a pair, it might be doubtful if the purchaser could recover damages ; so it is always advisable to put the following questions. On 96 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. the answers given, a good idea could be formed of the value of the pair as breeders : — 1. What age are they ? 2. How many years have they been breeding to¬ gether ? 3. How many nests have they had each year ? 4. How many eggs do they average in each nest? 5. How many of these nests have they sat out ? 6. What average of chicks do they bring out ? 7. Are their chickens strong and healthy ? Of course many large breeders could not answer these questions categorically, but they would then give a general character of the pair, whether good, fair, or indifferent breeders. With regard to the first two questions, our expe¬ rience is that the older the better. We have birds that we know to be over sixteen years, and they breed more freely, sit more steadily,, and bring out a larger per¬ centage than any birds we have. Three-year old birds will sometimes breed (especially the hens), but no reliance can be placed on their doing so ; and if they do, I should doubt its being good either for them or their progeny. The common difficulty of getting a young pair to breed is, the cock gets so excited and furious that the hen becomes timid and runs from him. Holding the hen’s SELECTING AND MANAGING THE BREEDING BIRDS. 97 head and covering her eyes is often resorted to for the first few times, and with success. Another good plan is, to take the cock away for a short time to a strange camp. This tames him a little, and when taken back he is generally all right. But on no account ever take the hen to the cocks' camp. In choosing the birds you will, of course, be largely influenced by the quality of the feathers. It has been the fashion to run entirely after white-feathered hens, with not half enough regard as to the quality of the feather in other respects. Dark hens’ feathers of good breadth, softness, closeness and droop are worth far more than indifferent hens’ feathers that are white. The dark hen will transmit her good qualities to her cock progeny, and benefit the future pluckings far more than would the whiteness of the light hen’s feathers, if inferior in other respects. The birds should also be selected for coming from a good breeding strain. They should have a well- developed, muscular frame, large feet, thick, powerful- looking legs, with great depth of girth, and a prominent, bold eye. On no account have anything to do with a herring-gutted, flyaway-looking bird. The body feathers should be curly, rich in colour, with a shiny gloss on them ; and the birds, if in good condition, should be broad across the back, with a slight H 98 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. furrow running down tlie middle. The tamer and more thoroughly domesticated they are the better, but by tameness I do not mean that they should not be pugnacious. Avoid selecting brothers and sisters, especially if from the same brood or the same season ; for although I doubt there being any proof forthcoming as yet that any weakness in the chicks can be traced to this cause, still it is beyond doubt that all sorts of undesirable results have ensued from in-breeding in other animals ; and, as like begets like, if there is a tendency to weak¬ ness in any organ running in a family, every time members of that family inter-breed, this weakness will be more highly developed. But, above all, the marked checks that nature puts on the Ostrich inter¬ breeding in the wild state should make us careful. The first of these checks is, the hen invariably coming into season earlier than the cock, and the persistent efforts she makes at this time to get away from the camp she is in, and to wander far distances until she meets some strange cock. The second is the timidity of the birds, which in a wild state must cause the broods to be constantly dispersed before they come to maturity. The size of the camp for a pair of birds greatly varies. The best are from twenty to forty acres each in Karoo country, but smaller on the coast, the birds SELECTING AND MANAGING THE BREEDING BIRDS. 99 feeding themselves entirely, except in very severe droughts, when they will get daily 1 lb. of mealies and some prickly pear leaves cut up. In this manner they cost hardly anything to keep, they breed freely, keep healthy, sit steadily, and have nearly every egg fertile. The only objection is the amount of ground required — which is not often of much consideration in Africa — and the cost of fencing ; but this is made up immeasurably by the after-saving. Others, again, will have them in tiny camps down to forty yards square ; of course, then they must be entirely artificially fed, and their breeding will not be so certain, even supposing that they remain in perfect health, which we very much doubt. The breeding birds need not have water at all if the camps are large and the herbage at all succulent, such as the Karoo veldt. We know many breeding birds that have not had water for years, and of those that have access to water some do not avail themselves of it ; but we prefer growing birds to have free access to water. If the camps are large, they do very well abutting on to each other, even if there is only a wire fence dividing them ; as, when once the cocks get used to each other they scarcely ever bother to fight, they get to know which is master, and the conquered one keeps away H 2 100 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. from the other’s fence. But when the camps are small, they bother up and down after each other all day. There should always be a supply of crushed bones in each camp ; and on sour veldt an occasional supply of salt is advisable. The fact of the birds having paired is known by the cock leaving an unmistakeable mark on the left side of the tail. The oftener it has been done the more con¬ spicuous becomes the mark. Many breeders get their birds so savage that they are hardly manageable : this is' from want of care or knowledge. If men are allowed to enter the camps with bad bushes, and the birds get fighting with them, or, worse still, if they go with none at all, and then dodge about, the quietest bird will in a week or two be made perfectly rampant. But if good bushes are taken the bird gets to know that he can do nothing, and seldom attempts any nonsense. If they are always treated like this, on a pinch a man could walk through the camp with only a walking-stick held out, and they would not charge : though if he had nothing in his hand they would. CHAPTER XVI. THE EGG. Excepting a few of the very lowest forms in the animal kingdom, everything possessing animate life has come from an egg ; not as we see it when laid by a bird, but as such an egg would appear if stripped of the shell, the different parchment-like coverings, and the albumen. The ovary of the bird, situated under the hump of the back-bone, consists of a cluster of yolks like a bunch of grapes, the yolks being held to the stems somewhat as an acorn is held in the cup. As puberty comes on, the yolks which have been small, but of various sizes, grow rapidly, and as they reach the full size are ready to be fertilised by the male ; after which they drop off, and in passing down the ovary duct, first the albumen (the white), is added to them, then the white skins, of which there are two, then the shell, and lastly the colouring, when the egg is given forth, containing with¬ in its shell all that will constitute the future bird. The germ floats on the top of the yolk, being suspended from the two ends of the egg by two spiral cords, the mechanism of which is so beautiful that no matter how 102 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. the egg is turned the germ will come to the top ; and all that is required to effect the wonderful change of this mass of liquid to the natural chick with its solid bones, muscles, flesh, and vital organs, is the application of a certain amount of heat given in a certain manner. So much the Great Creator has permitted man to discover, but what this vital spark is He alone knows. It is generally supposed to proceed from the male only, the female simply receiving it on one of her ova, and in mammals stamping her impress upon it during the period of gestation. But this can hardly be so with aves, as with these the germ so quickly leaves the female, after which she can exercise no influence over it. The popular delusion is that the yolk contains the materials that go to compose the chick. But this is not so. The albumen contains the whole, the yolk simply feeding the embryo and the chick for the first few days after its birth ; though we may suppose that a considerable chemical change takes place, as the yolk, which was at first yellow, becomes green by the time the chick comes forth from its shell, and the yolk-sac is taken into the abdominal cavity, which closes over it. The amount of the yolk that must be consumed prior to the chick hatching must be very small, as up to that time it has only lost about one- THE EGG. 103 sixth of its weight, being about the same proportion as the total loss of weight of the egg by evaporation during the time of incubation. The yolk-sac is connected to the chick about half¬ way down its small intestine, and as the action of the bowels (which is always at work in every living animal, forcing everything contained in them from the head to¬ wards the anus) is at work previous to the chick leaving the shell, as proved by the excrement which the chick voids before leaving it, the yolk must be digested, and nourishment drawn from it by the large intestines and the lower half of the small one ; the liver, the stomach with its gastric glands, and the gizzard not coming into use until the bird swallows food through its mouth. So that the popular fallacy of the bird being born with a “yellow liver,” having any connection with the yellow yolk is disproved — first by the yolk, as we have seen, not being yellow at this time, and secondly, that by no possible reasoning can the yolk be supposed to enter the liver. A certain class of philosophers, known as evolu¬ tionists, have attempted to reduce the works of the Great Creator to the action of two laws, viz., that of the “ survival of the fittest,” and of “ sexual selection.” That these two laws are in operation neither we nor any one else who watches nature can deny, but that they 104 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. are sufficient to account for all the wonderful and beautiful things in nature which we see around us, is to us a monstrous idea, and can only be entertained by those who, observing the working of these two laws, become so wrapt in them that they lose sight of the in¬ numerable other laws which Providence has placed to keep everything in the same order in which it was created. These men refer all the gorgeous and wonder¬ ful colouring in the vegetable kingdom to the attraction these form to the various insectivora to settle on them, thus carrying the pollen to the stigma ; whilst they account for the gorgeous colouring of moths and but- terflies, and of birds, by the greater attraction which the more gorgeously-coloured males present to the females than do the less-favoured ones. By the action of these laws they attempt to prove that all the various forms in the living world have been developed from one, or, at the most, four or five species. But in all their arguments they carefully ignore the scarcely less beautiful and varied colouring of birds’ eggs, which cannot in any way be accounted for by either of these laws, as the law of the u survival of the fittest would have kept all eggs to neutral tints, or to tints closely resembling that of the surface on which they are laid. That occasional cases of this may be found, we are aware ; but for every such case dozens THE EGG. 105 may be given exactly the reverse, showing these are mere coincidences ; whilst the law of “ sexual selection ” can by no stretch of imagination have the slightest in¬ fluence on the future colouring of the egg, as this colouring; has no connection or resemblance to the bird’s plumage. Neither has the food on which the parent bird exists any connection with the colouring of the egg ; if it had, carnivorous birds would always have one colour, and graminivorous another, but such is not the case. In the family of which we are now treating, the Ostrich has a white egg, the most conspicuous colour to attract its enemies ; whilst the Emu, having the same habits and living under the same conditions, has a dark- blue egg. The colouring of the egg appears to be one of those inscrutable ordinances of the Creator, for which man can give no reason, as it appears to serve no pur¬ pose but that of endangering the life of the enclosed chick, by attracting the attacks of its enemies : which is utterly opposed to the doctrine of evolutionists, who hold that no variation in colouring or form can exist unless it in some way benefits the future chances of the possessor s survival or multiplication. This it certainly does not do whilst the chick is in the shell ; and as at its birth it casts away the shell, the colouring can exercise no influence on its after-life. CHAPTER XVII. NATURAL HATCHING. Some people are prejudiced against artificial hatching, and prefer letting the birds sit. If it is intended to take the chicks away as soon as hatched, it is then an immense waste of time and condition of the parent birds to allow them to sit; and by the incu¬ bator a much larger percentage of chicks can be obtained, of equal if not superior robustness. But with the incubator experience is required; some have not a room adapted for the machine ; some cannot afford to purchase a thoroughly good machine, and unless this is done they are better without one, so that natural hatching is still largely practised, though it was fast going out of date till the yellow liver disease appeared, when some farmers were driven into letting their birds sit, so that the parent birds might rear them for the first month or so, as the only way of getting over this delicate time. Whilst some pairs will bring out nearly every egg, nest after nest, others again never bring out more than a small percentage. This is generally caused by one of . •- HEN BIRD SITTING. NATURAL HATCHING. 107 the parents beginning to sit before the other, when it is only the last laid eggs that are not addled. In these cases, the less the birds are visited or noticed in any way the better, as also in the frequent cases (especially with young pairs) where the cock will not sit at all ; this latter is, I believe, almost invariably caused by the birds being artificially fed, and the camps being near the homestead or road, or where the cock gets teased, and consequently too excited to sit. The other great cause of failure is the nests getting full of water in wet weather. When this happens the eggs never come out well; but this with proper care should never happen. As soon as two or three eggs are laid, a round hole, two yards wide and eighteen inches deep, should be dug close to the nest, the excavated ground being thrown up in a heap, and the hole filled in level with coarse sand or gravel. A few days afterwards the eggs should be moved on to it ; then all fear of rain is over. The waiting a few days before moving the eggs is to avoid the risk of the hen taking fright. Making the hole so broad is to prevent the birds throwing up dirt amongst the sand with their bills, as they invariably will do if the sand does not extend beyond their reach as they sit. Birds vary much in their habits in sitting ; some 108 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. pail’s sit so closely that the egg s are constantly hot from the first to the last day, whilst others will be constantly off for an hour or more at a time, and yet bring out nearly every egg. Some birds get very impatient, especially if there are many days between the hatching of the first and the last chick, and are apt to leave the nest before all are batched, but the less they are visited the less likely they are to do this. But if they do abandon the nest, and the forsaken eggs appear quite cold, do not despair, because if these are put in an incubator, or even wrapped in blankets and put in a warm place, they will most likely recover. Some pairs will let a good many chicks die in the shell from want of assisting them, whilst a good pair will break with their breast-bone all that they evidently know by instinct are fast in the shell, repeating the operation till they liberate the chick ; and sometimes they will even take the chick by the head and shake it clean out of the shell. When it is intended to let the birds rear the chicks — and, mind, we say that unless this is intended it is a great mistake to let the birds sit at all — poison should be freely laid about for some time before the brood is expected to hatch, otherwise some will be sure to be taken by cats or jackals. And after the brood has left NATURAL HATCHING. 109 the nest, a boy should go about with them all day, otherwise they will get very wild ; and although when taken away from the old birds this wildness may appear to leave them, it has not really done so : it will show out again as they get older. In most broods, if examined, some will be found to have a hard lump hanging to the navel. This is part of the yolk-sac that has not been taken in when the chick hatched, or was helped out by the parent bird, and the navel has contracted and left it out. In artificial hatching we always push it in, but in nature it dries up, and the chick is deprived of so much of the yolk. It will be noticed that these chicks when left to nature do not thrive at first as well as the others. Some farmers build little huts or weather-screens over the nests, but they do not answer well, whilst the sand nests are perfect in themselves. Many breeders consider it detrimental to take the feathers of breeding birds. As far as their inclination for breeding goes this is quite a mistake, though the feathers may help them to cover their eggs, and they are certainly beneficial to them in rearing their young. But in artificial hatching and rearing, leaving the feathers on the birds is simply a dead loss. Beginners want cautioning, that, no matter how tame the parent birds may be, directly they hear the chicks 110 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. queak in the shell their whole nature changes, becom¬ ing intensely savage, the hen being worse than the cock ; they will then charge with such force that unless a man has a thoroughly good bush he might easily be killed ; but if he has a really good bush with him, after a few charges the bird finds it is mastered, and tames down. HEATHERTON INCUBATING ROOM. (From a Photograph.) CHAPTER XVIII. ARTIFICIAL HATCHING. A little consideration of what was known of Artificial Hatching, previous to our applying the art to the multi¬ plication of Ostriches, will prove, I believe, both interest¬ ing and instructive to the farmer. In nature we have only one kind of bird that does not sit on its eggs, using instead artificial heat : this is the “ Megapadius tumulus,” the jungle-fowl of Aus¬ tralia. This bird is described as making immense heaps of vegetable matter, said in some cases to be fifteen feet in height by fifty in circumference, and to be used by several pairs of birds jointly, for several years in succession. The eggs are laid singly at a depth of several feet in the heap, and the holes filled in, the requisite heat being generated by the decay of the vegetable matter, as they are observed to be made where the foliage is thick and the rays of the sun cannot penetrate. In the back parts of Western Australia, on the sandy plains, where probably the necessary amount of vegetable matter and deep shade are hard to procure, the birds lay their eggs inside great heaps of sand 112 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. exposed to the rays of the sun, a coating of vegetable matter being placed round the egg only, and this pro¬ bably acts as a non-conductor to save the eggs from the excessive heat of the sand by day, whilst retaining enough at night. The artificial hatching of fowls’ eggs is supposed to have been practised in Egypt for many centuries. Most books on this country profess to give us descrip¬ tions of how it is done, though some say the art is known only to one small section of the people, and is handed down by them as a close secret; which, taken in conjunction with a letter from Colonel Gordon, the then Pacha of Soudan, asking us about two years ago for particulars of our incubator, and how to work one, as he was anxious to introduce Ostrich-farming there — eggs from the wild birds being easily procurable — makes us think all published statements about it should be taken with caution. The following is Lane’s description, as given in his u Modern Egyptians”: — “ The Egyptians have long been famous for the art of hatching fowls’ eggs by artificial heat. This practice, though obscurely described by ancient authors, appears to have been common in Egypt in very remote times. The building in which the process is performed is called, in Lower Egypt, ‘ Maamal el-firakh,’ and in Upper Egypt ‘ Maamal el-farraag.’ In the former division of the country there are more than a hundred such establishments, and in the latter more than half that ARTIFICIAL HATCHING. 113 number. Most of the superintendents, if not all, are Copts. The proprietors pay a tax to the Government. The maamal is constructed of burnt or sun dried bricks, and consists of two parallel rows of small ovens and cells for fire, divided by a narrow, vaulted passage ; each oven being about nine or ten feet long, eight feet wide, and five or six feet high, and having above it a vaulted fire-cell of the same size or rather less in height. Each oven communicates with the passage by an aperture large enough for a man to enter, and with its fire-cell by a similar aperture. The fire-cells also, of the same row, communicate with each other, and each has an aperture in its vault (for the escape of the smoke), which is opened only occasionally. The passage, too, has several such apertures in its vaulted roof. The eggs are placed upon mats or straw, and one tier above another, usually to the number of three tiers in the ovens ; and burning ‘ yelleh ’ (a fuel composed of the dung of animals, mixed witli chopped straw, and made into the form of round, flat cakes) is placed upon the floors of the fire-cells above. The entrance of the maamal is well closed. Before it are two or three small chambers, for the attendant and the fuel, and the chicks when newly hatched. The operation is performed only during two or three months in the year — in the spring — earliest in the most southern parts of the country. Each maamal in general contains from twelve to twenty-four ovens, and receives about a hundred and fifty thousand eggs during the annual period of its continuing open, one-quarter or a third of which number generally fail. The peasants of the neighbourhood supply the eggs ; the attendant of the maamal examines them, and afterwards usually gives one chicken for every two eggs that he has received. In general only half the number of ovens are used for the first ten days, and fires are lighted only in the fire- cells above these. On the eleventh day these fires are put out and others are lighted in the other fire-cells, and fresh eggs I 114 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. placed in the ovens below these last. On the following day some of the eggs in the former ovens are removed and placed on the floor of the fire-cells above, where the fires have been extin¬ guished. The general heat maintained during the process is from 100° to 103° of Fahrenheit’s thermometer. The manager, having been accustomed to this art from his youth, knows from his long experience the exact temperature that is required for the success of the operation, without having any instrument, like our thermometer, to guide him. -On the twentieth day some of the eggs first put in are hatched ; but most on the twenty-first day — that is, after the same period as is required in the case of natural incubation. The weaker of the chickens are placed in the passage : the rest in the innermost of the interior apart¬ ments, where they remain a day or two before they are given to the persons to whom they are due. When the eggs first placed are hatched, and the second supply half hatched, the ovens in which the former were placed, and which are now vacant, receive the third supply ; and in like manner, when the second supply is hatched, a fourth is introduced in their place.” The descriptions by other writers on Egypt agree in the main with this ; one point in which they differ, and that one on which if Lane was correct would have puzzled us much, is where he says the eggs are placed tier upon tier to the height of three tiers ; now if this was the case the lower and middle tier would have a superincumbent mass of cold matter on the top of the egg, where the vital germ is, and which our experience would tell us would be fatal. But other writers say the eggs are placed simply in the ovens on some non-conduct¬ ing substance ; this is as we should have supposed, for the ARTIFICIAL HATCHING. 115 bottoms of the eggs are thus kept cool, whilst the heat is given from above to the top of the eggs — two things, as our experience shows us, of the very first importance. The other processes, viz., that of the heat from the slow fire for the first ten days and then the reduced heat, and then the eggs moved to the upper chambers, where the heat would be given equally all over, agree also with our experience. We believe imitations of these ovens have been tried in other countries and failed ; probably from the greater variableness of the climate, which we are assured is in Egypt during the incubating season very steady, it never raining, and the days and nights being of nearly the same temperature. Whether their process is sufficiently accurate for them to succeed in hatching Ostrich eggs is very doubtful. The Chinese are said to have hatched their ducks artificially from time immemorial. The process is very different to that of the Egyptians, and is described by the Rev. J. D. Gray, in his work on a China,” as follows, though it is exceedingly doubtful if any European has had the chance of thoroughly investigating it : — “ Throughout the empire there are institutions called Pao- ap-chang, in which ducks’ eggs are artificially hatched in large quantities. The process of incubation as practised in such estab¬ lishments is as follows : — A large quantity of rice husks, or chaff, is placed above grates filled with hot charcoal embers When heated the chaff is placed in baskets, and the eggs are laid I 2 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. 116 in it. The baskets with their contents are then taken into a dark room and placed on shelves of lattice-work, which are arrayed in tiers on the walls. Underneath the lowest of these shelves several portable earthenware grates are placed, contain¬ ing hot charcoal embers. In this dark and heated chamber the eggs are kept for a period of twenty-four hours. They are then removed to an adjoining room, where they are deposited in rattan baskets, which are three feet high, the sides being two inches thick, and lined with coarse brown paper. Here they are allowed to remain for ten days. In order that they may be equally treated, it is usual to alter their position once during the day, and once during the night. If the servants are careful, the eggs which in the day are in the upper part of the basket, will be in the lower part during the night. After fourteen days they are removed, and arranged on long and very wide shelves. Here they are covered up for warmth with broad sheets of thick paper, made apparently of cotton. After they have occupied these shelves for fourteen days, hundreds of ducks burst into life. The principal establishments of this kind in the vicinity of Canton are at Fa-tee and Pou-tai-Shuee.” In Europe, the first to attempt artificial hatching was Reaumur, the inventor of the thermometer. His first attempts were with decomposing dung, something after the style of gardeners’ forcing-frames ; with this he succeeded in hatching a few. His next attempts were with ovens, in which he was partially successful, and in 1749 he published a book called “Art de faire Eclaire,” but he failed to make it so sure of hatching as to be of any value, and little more was heard of it till 1840, when Mr. Cantilo invented the Hydro- AKTIFICIAL HATCHING. 117 incubator, so called from water being the medium by which an even temperature was secured. From that time to the present various spurts have been made to make it commercially a success, but these have only partially succeeded, as in England it is used mainly for hatching the eggs of game that are disturbed in the hay-fields, and as a fancy amusement. In America great efforts have been made in the same direction, but with results similar to those in England. Mr. Halsted, who seems to be recognised as the great authority there, being the inventor of their great prize¬ taking machine, winds up an exhaustive paper, written in 1870, with the advice, that, owing to the difficulties and ready susceptibility of the eggs to be injured by any imperfection in the hatching, it is best to let the hens sit on them for the first three days. But this is admitting that the incubators are far from perfect, as they cannot be considered a success as long as it is necessary to do this. It was left for Ostrich -farmers, who could easily observe the habits of the parent birds, to define the amount and kind of help that the parents give to the chick when it is unable to escape unaided from the shell, and to ourselves to discover the means of telling when that time had arrived; and the great profits, that we clearly saw would accrue from the successful hatching 118 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. of Ostrich eggs, gave the necessary stimulus to bring the machines to perfection. We will now treat of the first introduction of the art into Africa. Thirteen years ago the very name u incubator ” was scarcely known at the Cape ; and when I imported a machine to experiment with Ostrich eggs, those that heard of it looked upon it as a mad idea. Of course I did not succeed at first ; many things had to be found out : notably, the necessity of reducing the temperature towards the end of the incubation, and how to tell when the chicks were ready to come out, so as to save those that were glued fast and could not break out ; and how to manage the temperature with such large bodies, and to provide for the long period of six weeks’ incubation, and other niceties, which all seem very simple now they have become generally known, but which entailed many weary days of study and watching the habits of the birds to find out. Now, as is natural, other inventors are in the field, and many kinds of incubators are made and sold in all the large colonial towns, some good, some decidedly indifferent, but all pretty well successful if the eggs are left under the old birds for a fortnight or more, and then put in the machines. But this, of course, loses half the advantage of artificial hatching ; 1st, in that it is during the first few days that the birds ARTIFICIAL HATCHING. 119 generally spoil their eggs, as we have shown in the last chapter ; 2nd, in that the great pull of artificial hatching is in making the birds lay double or treble the number of eggs they otherwise would. Twelve to six¬ teen is a full laying, if the eggs are left, but if they are taken away as fast as laid, and only a couple of dummies left in the nest, they will lay thirty or more without stopping. No eggs are lost, and the birds do not go out of condition, as they do if they sit a few days. But it is in starting the egg s the first few days that many of the incubators fail, and in which my trebly patented machine is universally acknowledged to beat all competitors that have sprung up. The great mistake which is made by most who have assayed to bring out a machine, is not recognising the first great provision of nature, that of the germ being so suspended to the two ends of the egg, that no matter how the egg is turned, the germ rises to the top. To prove this, take a number of eggs and break them over a dish, and in every case the vital spot will be observed on the top of the yolk. It is one of those wonderful provisions of nature that meet us at every turn, if we could only observe them. The object is that the vital spot should be brought into contact with the heated body of the old bird, the heat being given to this part of the egg only, the under side remaining quite cold till 120 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. a late period of the incubation, when the blood-vessels have extended right round, and the heat is circulated. It is thus nature provides, whilst giving the necessary heat to the germ, to avoid almost entirely any evapora¬ tion from the egg. Now, many machines are made regardless of this, giving the heat all over the egg, and setting up a large evaporation. This they attempt to remedy bv giving moisture by sprinkling the eggs, or inserting drawers of wet earth, or moist sponges, under or amongst the eggs. But this is contrary to nature, and causes the embryo chick to breathe an unnatural atmosphere, to the detri¬ ment of its future life. But the best proof of the comparative perfection to which artificial hatching has now being brought at the Cape, is the numerous testimonials sent me, of from 80 to over 90 per cent, of hardy chicks being hatched from large numbers of eggs, taken when fresh laid and incubated. The incubators are so constructed that the eggs can be put in daily as laid. In natural hatching, the birds should be in pairs, otherwise the hens are apt to fight over the eggs and cause loss, but with artificial hatching two hens to a cock are best. As an example of what can be done by artificial hatching : one set of three birds, a cock and two hens, ARTIFICIAL HATCHING. 121 during- the period from 30tli June, 1872, to 30th June, 1873, laid 188 eggs, which produced 133 chicks; of these 18 died, leaving 115 young birds. Of these, 74 were sold at three months old for £16 each, and allow¬ ing the remaining 41 to be worth only £12 each, we have a return of £1,676 from one set of birds. The next year the same set laid 113 eggs, producing 77 chicks, and the first six months of the third year they laid 97 eggs, producing 81 chicks, being over 80 per cent. After this the cock was killed by a rascal for his feathers. This was before my incubators were brought to anything like their present perfection. But the same price would not be obtained for chicks now, neither in the last few years would so few of the chicks be lost in the rearing. Even if a farmer does not intend to incubate as a regular thing, he should have a machine and know how to work it ; or else the first time a bird refuses to sit, or comes to grief in the middle of it, he will lose heavily. A notion was started some time ago, by the intro¬ ducers of some machines, which worked with hot water instead of lamps, that the smell of paraffin was injurious, both to the eggs and chicks : but this is utter rubbish ; if anything, the smell is good for them, acting as a disinfectant, some of the most successful men we know 122 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. having two or more machines working with lamps in a tiny room. The proportion of eggs that are not fertile is much smaller than is generally supposed ; as a rule, when the birds pair and lay in a nest, they may be taken to be all fertile ; but hens, especially young ones, will often lay a number of eggs about the veldt before any cock has paired them. Even with the most perfect incubator and with every attention, occasionally a batch of eggs will come out badly, the chicks being gluey and often deformed ; many people fancy that the thunder affects them, but this we do not believe — we believe that the fault is in the eggs themselves, which if left to nature would have failed to incubate at all, or have died in the early stages ; but with the more perfect provision of heat in the incubator they are brought to maturity. COOLIE FEEDING CHICKS. (From a Photograph taken at Heatherton Towers). CHAPTER XIX. REARING THE CHICKS. For the first few years little difficulty was experienced in rearing the chicks ; the principal art consisted in giving them plenty to eat. Our instructions supplied with the incubators used to be : — u Send them out with a boy the second day after hatching, if the weather is fine, and put them where they are sheltered from the wind and there is a good supply of gravel. The third day they will pick up gravel, and when they have filled the gizzard on the fourth day, they will eat any soft green food, with which they should be supplied as much as they will eat, lucerne cut up fine being the best. They should have water once a day, but it must not be brack. Return them to the incubator at night till a month old, or if there are too many for the machine, after a few days they can be put in boxes, lying on sacks or straw, and the boxes covered over, leaving a small air-hole. If too hot they will stand up with their mouths open and wings out. They should be freely supplied with crushed bones. The third and fourth day they will eat the dung of any 124 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. larger birds if they can get it; if this is not to be had, fresh cow-dung will do as well. For the first four days the chick lives on the yolk that it has taken into the stomach. In wet weather they must be kept in a warm, light room. When two months old they can be put in a shed at night, provided it does not face the cold winds, and at three months old can be left out alto¬ gether, except in very bad weather. The great secret is keeping them supplied with as much green food as they will eat.” Such were the instructions we always supplied, and acting up to which we used to rear nearly all the chicks, ten to twenty per cent, being the extent of our losses, including accidents. But a few vears ago the chicks in the up-country districts began to die in spite of every care, every chick on a farm being often swept off. The first we heard of their dying was on a farm in the Middleburg district about six years ago ; we then heard no more of it till it appeared in the Colesberg district about two years afterwards, where it became prevalent all over the district, the Cradock district soon following ; and last year it appeared in Albany, and as far as Ave know all over the colony, here and there missing a farm for one or two seasons, but sooner or later breaking out everywhere. The disease has got the name of “ Yellow Liver,” HEARING THE CHICKS. 125 from the post-mortem revealing a bright yellow liver if death ensues before they are three weeks old, and of a nutmeg colour with yellow spots when older. But a more descriptive name is u fever.” The greatest mortality occurs when the chicks are about a month old, but this season we have known farms where it has been very fatal at the age of two and three months. From rumours in the last two months, we suspect the same thing is occurring in birds up to nine months old, but we have not had opportunities of hold¬ ing post-mortems to decide if the cause was this or the worm u Strongylus Douglassii.” The symptoms are : — The birds are brisk and show every appearance of health, till some morning they are observed to crimp their necks, to appear languid, and to constantly make a short little plaintive grunt. The fol¬ lowing days some are observed to drop behind, and to be rapidly losing their condition ; the belly loses its healthy greenish-yellow tint, becomes pendulant and of a deep blue colour ; a white circle is observed round the eye¬ lids ; the legs grow a pinkish skin colour and thin ; the birds sweat underneath at night, appear to feel the slightest cold, lie down much when out of doors, and huddle in the corners when indoors ; easily fall when running about, and rise again slowly ; give forth a peculiar aromatic smell from their feathers, which have a sticky 126 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. feel and a dark, dirty look ; generally, but not always, intense and obstinate constipation sets in. The first signs of an outbreak are often some of the larger chicks apparently protruding the anus ; this Mr. Hutchins, the Colonial Veterinary Surgeon, assured me was nothing but piles, but these were quite unknown to us till this fever made its appearance. The temperature of the chick at first is the normal temperature of the Ostrich, viz., 103° to 104° Fahrenheit, but it gradually falls, till at about 95° death ensues. These are the symptoms which will never be mistaken by a farmer who has once had a taste of this fatal fever amongst his chicks. Some birds die off* sharp, especially if the wreather is moist and muggy, with the wind from the southward ; others linger on for a long time, and a few recover and grow out fine chicks ; whilst others, although they grow up, always appear delicate. The post-mortem appearances are the colour of the liver', or, where this is not so bad, small yellow abscesses will be found on the edges of the lobes. Not an atom of fat is to be observed in the body. Dropsy of the abdominal cavity is generally highly developed ; the coats cf the stomach peel off with the least touch. The entrails are flabby and watery. The folds of the maniply are swollen and the coeca distended, and in these stones will be found that have escaped from the gizzard, which REARING THE CHICKS. 127 in health never happens. The lungs generally, but not always, show congestion. The heart is flabby and dropsical, and small ulcers will often be found on the tongue and entrance to the throat. The outside coating to the gizzard has several inflamed spots, and inside the gizzard one or more punctured and discoloured spots will be noticed ; this should be borne in mind, as it is as yet an unexplained phenomenon, and may point to parasites. Such are the post-mortem appearances, clearly proving that it is no sudden disease of any one organ, but a rapid and complete break-down of the whole system. What is the cause ? Here we must at once state that we cannot as yet write with any certainty. At first, lots of men, 'whose experience, probably, did not go beyond one brood, were ready enough to repeat the old story of teaching their grandmothers to suck eggs, and with the dogmatism that is the sure sign of ignorance would tell us straight off what was the cause. Some declared the chicks were kept too warm at night ; others, that they were too cold ; or that they ate too much, or not enough, or, ad infinitum of any nonsense, all forgetting that it was not likely that those who had been successfully rearing chicks for twelve years would suddenly forget all they had learnt. Others, again, laid it straight off on the 128 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. parent birds, that they were inbred ; whereas, by a little trouble they could have found out that the chicks of old pairs that had always been healthy and reared without difficulty were now as hard to rear as any, and that the chicks of birds where the different sexes were from different parts of the colony were as bad as any others. Some again, laid it down as a fact that artificial hatching had been at the bottom of it ; whereas they could have known that the first outbreak occurred with men who had never used an incubator, and whose original stock were wild birds. Besides, I have been assured that our inland farmers find the chicks captured in the veldt from wild birds as hard to rear as the tame ones. But this latter requires confirming before much importance can be attached to the statement ; if it is true, it tells against the only theory to which I have attached much importance, namely, that the mischief has been brought about by over-feeding the parent birds, especially on grain. It was soon discovered that the birds were mere machines in one sense — that, given unlimited food of a stimulating nature, there was hardly any limit to the number of eggs they would lay ; but it has been observed by others, and our own experience somewhat confirms it, that the eggs under these circumstances are not so large. We do not believe that a few months REARING THE CHICKS. 129 high feeding makes any perceptible difference to the future progeny, but we do think it highly probable that the continued high feeding; has gradually affected the stamina of nearly all our domesticated Ostriches, causing the progeny to be weakly and easily affected by change of weather or other unfavourable circumstances. That it is so with other domesticated animals we know. Look what puny little pups a very fat bitch has, or how weakly is the progeny of a very fat sow, mare, or cow, especially if they get very little exercise ! And even with the human race, is it not notorious that the children of the upper classes, living in the lap of luxury, feeding on highly stimulating food, and taking no exercise, are born more puny and more weakly than the children oi the labourer, who get food enough but not of too stimu¬ lating a kind, and sufficient but not excessive work ? If this is so, then it is for us to be contented witl fewer nests, where the birds are left to sit, letting their gradually recover their condition after the eggs are hatched, and we must not, as is now almost universally the custom, force them rapidly forward again by un¬ limited food. Or, far better still, incubate every egg, and never let the birds get into that exhausted condition they do after sitting out ; and thus, whilst getting the advantage of a large number of eggs, the necessity for stimulating food is avoided, j 130 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. Incubating every egg was my constant practice for many years, when I never knew what it was to have any trouble in rearing. The birds were never fed and were never allowed to sit for a day. In the extraordinary increase, particulars of which I have given in the chapter on Artificial Hatching, the birds scarcely ever saw a mealie or any sort of artificial food. They had a good camp, and fed themselves entirely. A remarkable and apparently proved fact, and one which bears strongly in favour of this theory, is that, of the chicks that die of fever, an immense prepon¬ derance are cocks. But what is to be done when an outbreak of fever comes? will be the question on every one’s lips who has had a tasted of it. First, we may state that all physicking has as yet availed nothing ; it has only ag¬ gravated the disease. By changing the food, and by giving them aloe and prickly pear leaves cut up fine, anion or shallot tops, every effort should be made to keep the bowels ojaen, whilst we should avoid lowering the system either by physicking or by giving them, as some do, Epsom salts in their water to drink. Redouble the care in not letting them get wet or cold, and keep them warm at night. Do not give them boiled wheat, wet bran, or any sort of cooked food, but give them dry wheat or Kaffir corn ! ! Above all, see that neither the REARING THE CHICKS. 131 room they sleep in, nor the one they are in on wet days, has any draught in it, and is free from damp ; and, if possible, get a room with a large loft above it ; the chill that strikes through a level iron roof towards day¬ break is very fatal to them ! ! See that no cold wind blows on them through the doorway of the room ! ! Keep them out of the hot sun ! ! See that their food is cut up very small, and that it is not of a young, succu¬ lent growth ; if lucerne, it should be in blossom ! ! A change on to another farm has undoubtedly proved beneficial in some cases, whilst it has failed in others. We do not think the good is in the change of air ; the benefit is, that if there is any aggravating cause, such as dampness or bad housing where they are, when changed to another farm this is avoide^J. It is generally supposed that the system wants supporting; and such thing’s as giving them meat and milk, or tonics in the shape of sulphate of iron in their water, peppercorns, chilies, small doses of spirits and other things, have had their advocates, who have often been loud in their cry of having found an infallible remedy ; but none of these things have stood the test of prolonged experience. As is the case when any sickness becomes prevalent, and a farmer has a lot of sick animals : he gives them some¬ thing, or changes their diet, and they recover. He at once rushes to the conclusion that what he did was the 132 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. cause of their recovery, when in reality it was a change in the weather, or the natural vitality of the animals, that effected the cure. The good old proverb, u One swallow does not make a summer,” should be borne in mind by all farmers. Whilst we would be the last to have farmers reticent in speaking of and publishing any cure or preventative they believe would be effective or beneficial, they should avoid the mistake prevalent all the world over of proclaiming as a proved fact that of which the data they go upon is insufficient to constitute proof. As soon as the chicks are about two months old, put them on a field of old lucerne, if possible, and let them pick entirely for themselves, putting them in a shed at night. The sooner they are left to run day and night the better : if kraaled they will persist in eating the dry dung ; besides, their feathers get dirty, and they never thrive so well as birds that are allowed to run at night. Spec boom is an excellent thing to feed them on in dry times. Since fever has become so prevalent, some farmers have taken to letting the old birds rear the chicks for the first month or two. By this means more are lost by accidents, and of course a great waste of the parent birds’ time is entailed ; but as yet, in the upper dis¬ tricts, this has succeeded excellently, though we are REARING THE CHICKS. 133 informed it has not done so in the long grass on the coast. What is the secret of the old birds’ success is not very apparent, with the exception of the immense amount of exercise they give them, as they keep them on the trot from daylight till dark, and expose them to the wet dews and cold in a way that would be fatal in hand-rearing. When the chicks are a few days old, a pair of birds will brood and nurse thirty, but these should be as nearly as possible of one age. There is a little difficulty when the old birds are sent back to their camp, as the young birds fret. An excellent plan is to put any old tame, lame, or other large bird with them. They will quickly take to it in the place of the parent bird, but it will not brood them, so care must be taken to house them in bad weather, and great care is required to keep them tame. Some people have an idea that the mischief is caused by a louse, with a blue body and red legs, which fastens itself on the body of the chick, and in its ears, and that even one or two of these are sufficient to set up blood-poisoning. Now, we know that one little red tick on a good-sized lamb can cause paralysis, and eventually death if not removed, whilst its removal will cause the lamb to recover in a few hours; so that we must not be too ready to condemn this theory, strange as it appears. It is said that this louse will always be 134 OSTRICH -FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. found in buildings where poultry have been, even for years afterwards, and that it is easily carried and spread into all the buildings on a farm. This louse is ex¬ ceedingly prevalent on birds that sleep in dirty ill-kept buildings. And without going further than saying that it is detrimental to the health of the chick, it should be sufficient to impress upon farmers the necessity of constantly cleansing, whitewashing and disinfecting all buildings used for chicks. The chicks should also always have access to a good dusting-ground made of dry ashes, with a little u flowers of sulphur” mixed with it; and if the chickens are found to be lousy, some carbolic powder should be sprinkled over them. CHAPTER XX. DISEASES. In writing of diseases in Ostriches I must not be under¬ stood to lay claim to any special knowledge of the science of medicine ; but in the absence of any scientific work on the subject I feel it a duty to give the results of an experience as large as anybody’s, coupled with a habit of devoting some portion of my time to study, and of making post-mortem examinations on all animals that die on my own farms or on others where I can get the chance, and to place the conclusions arrived at in plain language and in a practical manner before my readers. Would that our legislature could become sufficiently enlightened to see that it is little use to spend money on agricultural shows, and to encourage men to spend large sums on importing thorough -bred stock, whilst diseases are left rampant in the country, some of them being peculiar to South Africa ; and whilst no serious effort is made to give our farmers the invaluable benefits that would accrue from the government employing at least two veterinary surgeons under the leadership of one of the great men of the day in the profession. We have 136 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. now one man, but be his abilities ever so great, how little can he accomplish of what is needed in a vast country such as this. At least two are wanted, one in the east and one in the west, to study and advise on our great new industry of Ostrich-farming — unless we would see what are possibly preventable diseases assume such proportions and acquire such strength that it will be too late for science to help us much. At least one botanist and one chemical assay ist are also urgently required, to advise in what parts the various alkalies are deficient in the herbage and soil, without which alkalies it is pretty well proved the Ostrich cannot continue in health. But above all a minister of agriculture is urgently required, who would receive all reports from the govern¬ ment scientists, and from farmers who notice anything peculiar, but who now, from want of some recognised person with whom to communicate, never give the public the benefit of their observations; and who would see that all information bearing on agriculture and stock was brought out in such a way as to reach the farmers. It seems incredible that in a great country like this, almost entirely dependent on farming pursuits, they should be left almost uncared for by the government. The time is fast passing when many of our farmers, wrapt in the egotism and prejudice that is begotten of ignorance, believed that scientific men could not teach DISEASES. 137 them anything about how to farm. The introduction and rapid development of new industries, and the partial failure of old ones, has taught them the great facts : that a man cannot go on in the same groove as his father; that with each successive generation we must advance to something higher and more complex, unless we are prepared, both as individuals and as a nation, to sink in the great struggle of the world. 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