. Our domestic birds; elementary lessons in aviculture . eathers brought high prices and the business was very profit-able ; but so many farmers engaged in it, and the supply offeathers increased so rapidly that prices soon became muchlower and have never since returned to the scale that prevailedat that time. The flesh of the ostrich is edible, but it is so hard and toughthat no one would grow ostriches for their flesh. The egg ofan ostrich is about as large as two dozen hen eggs. Ostricheggs are said to be very good, but they are too large for ordinary OSTRICHES 235 use, and the birds are so
. Our domestic birds; elementary lessons in aviculture . eathers brought high prices and the business was very profit-able ; but so many farmers engaged in it, and the supply offeathers increased so rapidly that prices soon became muchlower and have never since returned to the scale that prevailedat that time. The flesh of the ostrich is edible, but it is so hard and toughthat no one would grow ostriches for their flesh. The egg ofan ostrich is about as large as two dozen hen eggs. Ostricheggs are said to be very good, but they are too large for ordinary OSTRICHES 235 use, and the birds are so long in maturing that it would notpay to use them to produce eggs for commercial purposes. The breeding of ostriches for their feathers, however, maybe regarded as a permanent industry, for there will always be ademand for ostrich plumes, but it cannot be developed as ex-tensively as if the product were a staple article of food. Theostrich farms in America are mostly special farms devoted ex-clusively to ostrich breeding. Most of these farms are owned. Fig. 181. Ostrich eggs and newly hatched chicks. (Photograph from theBureau of Animal Industry, United States Department of Agriculture) and operated by companies. Some of them are stock speculationprojects. In South Africa the industry is more in the hands of thegeneral farmers, each of those engaged in it growing a few people of South Africa have tried to secure a monopolyin ostrich feathers by prohibiting the exportation of ostriches andby purchasing the best stock to be obtained in North farming is practical only in tropical and semitropicalcountries ; the plumage of the birds is too scanty to protect themin the cold winters of temperate climes. In the United States 236 OUR DOMESTIC BIRDS nearly all the ostrich farms are in Southern California andArizona, but there are some in Texas, Arkansas, and Florida. Management. In the places where ostrich farming is carriedon, the birds need no shelter. They m
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