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FT rRAXX O. CARPENTER.
TH13 Is the chief ostrich feather port
of the world. The finest plumes
which decorate the hats of our
American beauties are raised In Cape
Colony, and more than $800,000 worth of
them were sent from Fort Elizabeth to
the t'nlted States last year. Most of
the ostrich feathers used by man are
row raised on the farms of Cape Colony.
There are something like 400.000 birds
engaged In the business, and they pro
duced more than a million pounds of
feathers last year. Those feathers sold
for more than $7,000,000. bringing from
910 to S150 per pound.
A Big- Feather Market.
The chief ostrich feather market Is
Port Elizabeth. The feathers are sent
In by the farmers and country merchants
and are sold here at auctions which are
held every two weeks. They are care
fully packed In boxes and sealed before
shipment, and are consigned to licensed
agents who sort them and sell on a com
mission of 3i p-r cent. The sorting !
done at so much per pound.
The auction sales here are held In
what is known as the feather warehouse.
This covers more than an acre, and It
ronsisus f a grat room filled witn
trestle-work tallies. T'pon these tables
the feathers are laid out In lots, and the
feather buyers from all parts of the
world look over them and bid on each
lot as It Is put up for sale. Sometimes
a hundred thousand dollars worth of
feathers are displayed at one time, and
the yearlv auctions bring In several mil
lions. After buying the feathers are re
sorted and then shipped to New York and
to London and olher cities of Europe.
The greater part of the product goes to
J-omlon. where there are great feather
auctions held several times every year,
feme of the verr best plumes, however,
are exported direct to the United States,
the resorting and finishing of them beln
tlone by our milliners and dealers at
home. The poorest feathers go to Ger
many, where they are made up Into boas
and plumes for dolls- hats. The London
feathers are resorted before they are
sold, the suctions there handling 20 or
30 tons every two months. The average
price broiicht by the Cape Colony feath
ers la.-t year was over $12 per pound.
The business of ostrich raising Is fast
i
becoming a science. The government
here is interested In It. and it has all
sorts of laws to protect the farmers.
There Is a government veterinary surgeon
nt Port Elizabeth, who spends all his
time studying ostrich diseases. There Is
an ostrich breeding association, and this
has a stud book, in which the pedigrees
of the most noted birds are laid down.
There arc certain farmers who have so
Improved their stock that their ostrich
chicks will bring from J500 to 11000
apiece, and certain cock birds will sell
for J.'Oeo or more. There Is a man
nsnied Evans whose ostriches stand very
high. He Imported a Barbary cock some
years ago and bred him to a fine na
tive hen. Since then he hns steadily Im
proved his breed. The ostrich farmers
pay great attention to the study of the
feathers, watching the birds which pro
duce the best, and crossing them with
others. Irving to bring about a combina
tion which will yield the finest and
mnst valusMe plumes. There are cer
tain localities which produce better
feathers ihnn others. The Oudtshoorn
feather, for instance, reaches Inches
in length, the Gr;iff -Helnet measures
about CS inches, ami the Mlddleburg Is
about The latter feathers are a little
bit better than the Oudtshoorn as to
certain points, hut all are especially fine.
Kept Like Fine Mock.
Within the past few yea-s there has
been a great change in ostrich farming.
A generation or so ago nearly all our
reathers came from wild birds. They
were hunted with dogs and guns, and
were often captured In pitfalls. Then
along about 60 years ago some young
ostriches were tamed by a South African
and ostrich breeding began. As far back
as 1S5 there were only SO tame os
triches In the world. A few years later
the custom of hatching the eggs in In
cubators began, and in 1R75 the number
of tame Mrila here had increased to over
OOX). Still later came the great os
trich boom, and In 1SS; the feathers were
sold at s;o and upward a pound, and
people came from everywhere to South
Africa to engage In the business of pro
ducing them. At that time the average
price of a pair of birds was $?75. and
some sold for $40'io and more. Only about
half as many ostrich feathers were then
exported as now. and they sold for more
than $5. "00.000.
As the business Increased the farmers
learned how to raise ostriches on less
and less land. At the start the birds
Tt-er allowed to run In camps of from
"Oiio to 3'.00 acres, and JO acres was al
lowed for each. This La still the case
on the great plateaus, known as the
karoo, but there are now farms about
Oudtshoorn and elsewhere where two
ostriches are kept on one acre, and
where they are fed like fine stock, so
much grass and other food being allowed
to each per day.
Fed on AHalfa.
It has been recently found that a great
deal of money can be made In raising
ostriches on alfalfa or lucerne, and es
"edally so where that crop can. be raised
' " 3- ' I! I' . - , , break them apart.
.. r .,.: , .Af'r...-Vff ;t . f .:.. ' El I . , " Zgr The chicks, when first born, are dear
r'.":to. .-, vi. 'f' "A" V." r"' ' -' ' SI I " - ' " It -wii ,- HtUe things with feathers of the downy
- . ' T ' "jiV. ,rV--V- il T . " "-. II I ' i - -i nature of a chicken Just hatched. They
Sri J"r" "' .N J V f i ' Rj - ' 1 I
1 ' , r ii i 'Arj '
on irrigated lands. I have estimates
showing that five ostriches have been kept
in this way on one acre, and that they
have yielded feathers to the amount of t
or JS5 per ostrich per yar- Thls mpanB
that one acre of land brings In some
thing like J150 or more per annum, and
that from 60 acres a man can make from
ftiOQO to S00O per year.
On all such farms the ostriches are
kept In small fields. The usual paddock Is
an acre, with a wire fence about it, and
the fields are separated by paths three
feet or more wide to prevent the birds
fighting and kicking one another. Two
birds, a cock and a hen, are kept in each
paddock, and one acre of alfalfa simply
surfices for their grazing the year around.
Some of the farmers cut and stack the
crop and then feed It to the ostriches
when other food Is short, and some let
the birds graze. Alfslfa-fed birds have
glossier feathers than those fed upon
wild grass and bristles. Their quills are
heavier and they weigh more. They also
break easily, and for this reason are not
so much liked by the dealers as the
plumes of the birds from the velrlt. Irri
gated land suitable for ostriches is fast
Increasing in value; I am told thnt the
best now bring $1000 per acre.
Wild Ostriches.
During my stay in Africa I have seen
many wild ostriches. There are some In
the Sahara. They live along the borders
of the desert, and one sometimes sees the
ostriches, with wings outstretohed. swim
mine through the air, over the sand. I
saw a few in the Sudan, and In Omdur
man was able to buy the choicest of
white plumes from the wild birds at about
t2 apiece. There are many ostrichea In
Britlsii East Africa and Somaliland. All
along the Uganda Railroad, from the In
dian Ocean to Lake Victoria, they may
be seen feeding upon the high plains. I
understand that there are some In Abys
sinia and many west of Rhodesia In the
Kallharl desert. The feathers of the wild
birds are otly, and they have long quills.
They are freer from bars and other blem
ishes than are the plumes from the tame
birds, and they bring a higher prioe In
the market. Down here in South Africa
wild birds may not be caught, hunted or
shot, and the man who takes wild ostrich
egss from any of the crown lands with
out a license Is subject to a fine of JloO.
The same penalty is attached to bunting
or wounding a wild bird upon private
lands without the owner s consent. .
Egyptian Ostriches.
Iurlng my stay in Egypt I visited a
large ostrich farm near Cairo. It has
something like JOOO birds, and the feath
ers are largely retailed to tourists. The
farm lies on the edge of the desert not far
from Hellopolia, where Plato taught
school, and near the tree under which the
Virgin Mary and the Baby Jesus rested
about 1900 odd years ago.
This farm has been carved out of the
desert. It Is divided up Into fields, which
are surrounded by high mud walls. There
are alleys in some of the fields, and you
can walk over the farm, aeelng ostriches
of all ages, sizes and sexes engaged In all
the occupations of oeurich. lUe. Soma ai
WWm-' - vy-' J '-"M iter
the birds are eight feet in height and
some are no bigger than Plymouth Rock
hens. The male and female ostriches are
kept In pairs, and usually there Is one
pair or more In each field. As I went
through I shook my fist at one lady
ostrich, and her husband got angry. The
neck, head and legs of the old cock
turned as red as blood, and he snapped at
me with his bill like an angry dog. He
tramped up and down the pen. lifting his
big two-toed hoofs high, and the tur
baned Egyptian who went with me told
me that a kick from him would kill a
horse or knock my head from my
shoulders.
Hatching by Incubators. -
It was on the Egyptian farm that I
first saw ostriches hatched In incu
bators. The farmer told me that the
eggs were taken from the nest every
day. leaving one for a nest egg. just as
we do for chickens. About 20 eggs are
allowed to each pair of ostriches when
setting, and the balance of the 40-odd
eggs which tiie hen lays, goes to the
incubators I saw several hundred
eggs. Each was as big as the head of
a six-months-old baby. It was of a
smooth. Ivory while, freckled all over
with little black specks.
In the Incubators the eggs are laid
In padded boxes, and are kept In a room
where theMemperature is Just about 100
degrees Fahrenheit. As the time for
hatching approaches they are tested
day after day by placing them In a
hole In the wall of a dark room This
hole Just fits tho egg. so that the light
shines throughnd shows its condition.
If the egg is pot fertilized the, light
comes through tho shell. If It is there
will be only light at the larger end,
where the air chamber Is.
The eggs are turned every day, and
when the chicks are Just about ready
to hatch the shells are broken with
a tack hammer. The baby ostriches are
then taken out and laid away for 24
hours. In boxes of warm cotton. Be
fore going further they have their eyes
tested, and if they are lightish In color
they are killed, for the light-eyed ones
are albinos and are of no good for
laying.
Breeding Ostriches on the Karoo.
The most of the farmers of South
Africa now use Incubators, but many
let the birds hatch their own eggs, and
on nearly all the large farms you may
see these great creatures sitting on
the nests which they have dug out of
the send. The breeding season begins
In June and lasts until the end of Sep
tember, but If the birds are well fed
they will continue to breed all the year
round. As the time for breeding ap
proaches the breeders are camped off
in pairs, a field of six acres or less be
ing given to each cock and hen. The
fields are often separated by double
fences, as the cock ostriches are very
Jealous when their mistresses are lay
ing, and they will ftht one another
and often break their legs In their at
tempts to kick through the wires.
The cock always picks out the place
for the nest. He then kneels down on
his breast bone and kicks out a round
dish-shaped hollow in the sand. When
It is fixed to his satisfaction he coaxes
the hen ostrich to it and give her
instructions to lay. If satisfied, she
goes to work and lays one egg every
other day for about 20 days. She may
then take a rest, and begin to lay again,
keeping on Until she hag laid 40 or
STEALING UNDER PROTECTION OF THE LAW
String of Fake Jewelry Stores That Systematically Kob Customers Who Have Xo Recourse.
ANEW thief, protected by law, who
steals nothing but valuable Jewelry,
which his victims themselves de
liver to his strong-box, has Just made his
appearance In Chicago, and has begun to
reap an unheard-of harvest from Chi
cago's wealthier residents, aays the Chi
cago Tribune.
Rich and Immune from punishment the
police take off their hats to these kings
of crooks and declare they dare not
molest them so long as they continue to
operate under protection of the law. The
old-time pickpocket and diamond thief
has redoubled his energies, so that he,
too, can secure sufficient capital to em
bark in a business where bis talents may
be exercised without fear of prosecution.
The millennium has arrived, the old-time
crooks declare. In the good old days
who ever heard of a man opening a
warehouse where the wealthy brought
their valuables and the police prevented
the owner from raising a disturbance
when the keeper of the strong-box re
fused to return their property? It seems
no one ever heard of It But there is Joy
balow the deadline now, for the ware
houses, under the name of jewelry stores.
Slipped into the city unseen and un
heralded and are now firmly ensconced
not only on State street, but throughout
the best districts of the city.
The plan Is a simple one, but the law
makers are puzzling their heads to for
mulate one to defeat It. The legitimate
Jewelers are endeavoring to drive the
buccaneers out of the business, but they
still do business as safely as the honest
man and are making fortunes where
many a jeweler who walks the straight
and narrow path can see nothing before
him but the open portals of bankruptcy.
The originators of the plan were a num
ber of well-to-do "con" men whose fertile
brains-had kept the police from getting a
ray of light on their shady transactions
of the past. One genius among them dis
covered that the law was made solely
for their protection and to keep such
cheap competitors as plckpoketa and.
more. When she thinks she has enough
she begins to set, and here the old
cock comes again on the Job. He sets
on the eggs fully half of the time, and,
as a rule, takes charge of them at
night. If the hen stays off too long
he grows angry and drives her back
to the nest. At the end of 42 days the
eggs are ready for hatching and the
chicks begin to kick their way out.
In this the cock often assists them
by breaking the shells with his breast
bone, and the farmers sometimes go
pocketbook sr.atchers out of the field.
They organized a score of Jewelry stores,
each Incorporated under a different com
pany name, located in prominent districts,
and began their campaign. No man ever
left a diamond ring or diamond-studded
watch with them to be repaired and car
ried away the diamonds. Sometimes he
got a near-diamond, sometimes a sim
ple piece of glass. Their stores were
small, but elaborate, and they did not
want for brains, but what doesn't
If you want riches and want them quickly
and safely? Each company would sell
enough Jewelry to pay expenses and the
harvest came from the repairs.
No valuable piece of jewelry ever went
Into one of the stores and out again,
except when It was carried out by one of
the conspirators. All business was trans
acted under a corporate name, so no one
could be arrested for the sins of the
corporation. The only chance of recovery
for the value of a lost article was by a
civil suit.
Unless the jewelry was of great value
the owner could not afford to pay court
costs and attorney fees even If he was
sure to recover full value for his lost
property, and any good lawyer would
advise him that his chances for recovery
were small, as the law says a man is
not responsible for articles left with him
If he uses due diligence and care In look
ing after them. It makes no difference
whether the articles are lost or stolen.
So long as they are not left in trust the
bailee is not liable for accidents.
To complicate the situation 'and allow
the same crop of suckers to bite more
than once, the members of the syndicate
change buildings occasionally. They
change the company name over the door,
and deny knowing anything of the for
mer occupant, except that they bought
their good will and fixtures. They admit
their predecessors may have been crooks;
they have heard of such things. But if
a man deals with "honest men. such as
are represented in this company, they
will be safe.
Then their harvest begins. And tney
from nest to nest and gently tap or
crack the 6hells. that the chicks may
break them apart.
The chicks, when first born, are dear
little things with feathers of the downy
nature of a chicken Just hatched. They
waddle about like little ducklings and
are very delicate. Here in South Africa
they are often kept away from their
parents at night, being placed In pack
ing cases which are floored With dry
sand and covered with bagging. After
they are two or three months old they
are allowed to sleep together on th
floor of a warm room, and after six
months they can run about and will
stand almost as much cold as the old
birds. They grow fast. At the age of
a month they are as big as a turkey,
and at seven or nine months their first
picking begins.
Plucking the Feathers.
Harvesting the ostrich feathers goes by
the general name of plucking. This gives
one the Idea that the plumes are pulled
out. This Is not so. Such treatment
would cause great pain and injure the
birds. The process) should be called
clipping or cutting, for the quills are
snipped off with shears; and this causes
the ostriches Just about as much pain as
shearing does sheep. The first feathers
of a chick bring but little more than $2;
but after that the plumes improve right
along, and it is not uncommon for a
grown bird to yield over $100 worth in
one year.
The cutting of the feathers is done
every eight or nine months. The plumes
from the wings and the tails of the full
grown male birds are the most valuable,
and it makes a great difference in their
value as to how the feathers are cut.
There are 25 long white plumes on each
wing of a cock. The rest of the feathers
are black on the male and drab or gray-
get It. No matter how they get it, they
get it. At the end of three months they
move and begin to get It again. They
get everything but their deserts.
When a man called for a valuable watch
left to be repaired the week before he
would be told of the press of business
and requested to call again. From day to
day he would be given one fairy story
after another until his patience became
exhausted and he refused to wait another
minute for the return of his property.
Then the proprietor would tell him a clerk
in the office had stolen the watch and
decamped. They had been searching for
him and expected to locate him In a few
days.
"We don't want you to worry about
it," explains the Jeweler. "If we should
fall to find your watch we will gladly
give you another or pay you for this
one."
The owner goes away, mad but pla
cated, for a few days. When he returns
the clerk has not been found. The chief
crook offers a case of cheap watches
and suggests that he choose one to re
place the stolen timepiece. If he is fool
ish enough to do so he loses from $60 to
$100, for they don't steal cheap watches,
"Everything will be all right." he ex
plains. "This is the first time we ever
had anything lost or Btolen that was left
with us. I guess we have been extreme
ly fortunate, for most Jewelers with a
number of clerks often have to make
good losses."
The loser of the watch spends several
weeks gathering the desired information,
and when he returns to the store and
dilatory tactics will no longer avail the
keeper refuses flat-footed to pay.
"We owe you nothing. On looking up
the matter I find the store here before
us is the one that got your watch. We
bought their fixtures and good will a
month ago. We know nothing about
th"rU have you arrested." threatens the
victim. . , .
"Why, certainly, that is the thing to
do. Is It a crime to move into a build
Ish on the female. In addition there are
smaller feathers known as the ostrich
tips, so that one bird will yield about SW0
at a plucking. After the feathers are
taken off they are carried indoors and
sorted into about 20 different lengths and
colors. They are then tied up in bun
dles, weighed and packed up for the
market. The cheap tips bring something
like Jo a pound, while the plumes from
the wings and tails are worth $200 per
pound and upward.
Blindfolded Ostriches.
Plucking an ostrich is no easy matter.
I would rather tackle a mad bull than
one of these great birds, if I had no
means of defense. The only thing the
cock Is afraid of is a thorn bush, and
this only because he fears it may put
out his eyes. Without that he might run
at you and kick you to death. The os
trich kicks high, and the best remedy
In such cases is to throw yourself flat
On the ground. Then an old cock may
kneel on you and squeeze you, but he
cannot kick so as to hurt.
At the time for plucking the ostriches
are driven by the farmers or the native
blacks Into plucking boxes. These are
little pens made for the purpose. They
are Just about large enough for one
ostrich to stand in without moving
around. After the door is shut the bird
can do nothing, and he cannot kick, as
the sides are too high. He is kept quiet
by means of a stocking or a great cloth
mitten which is drawn over his head. His
wings are now raised, and the plumes
cut off with scissors, the work going on
until all the feathers are taken. The os
trich roars mournfully during the pro
tess, but in reality It hurts him but little.
When turned out he looks as ugly as a
sheep after shearing, but within a few
weeks the stumps of the quills die and
fall out, and the new feathers begin to
appear.
Fort Elizabeth, Cape Colony.
ing when another man vacates? Did It
ever occur to you that this is a corpora
tion, and a corporation cannot be ar
rested?" "Tou stole my watch and I'm going to
sue you for it," blusters the victim.
"That Is a good thought. Sue us. We
didn't move Into the building until a
month ago, and your ticket Is three
months old."
The victim hastens to a lawyer. The
lawyer, if he Is a smart one, explains the
game.
"You will have to sue both the man
who took your watch and the present oc
cupant of the store." he say. "It will
cost you $24 court costs and a minimum
attorney fee of $50. If they lose the case
it will be appealed and the costs will
amount to several times $74. You will
lose eventually anyway. You have no
case against anyone."
"Didn't they steal my watch?" he blurta
out, fighting mad.
"Oh, undoubtedly they stole your watch
and a good many more, but you can't
make them pay. That is one of tho
anomalies of the law. Your watch was
not left in trust, but as a bailment, and
It they can show they used ordinary care
in looking after it they would not be
liable If It were stolen a dozen times.
Your only hope of making them pay is
to go to the store when It is full of cus
tomers, make a big noise and accuse
them of every crime on the calendar.
Maybe they will pay to get rid of you.
Maybe they will call a policeman and
have you locked up or sue you for slan
der. You will have to take your chances."
The victim next goes to seek advice
from one of his State street friends in
the Jewelry .business. Ke explains the
case. The Jeweler smiles and asks if It
la one of the syndicate stores.
When he finds it is he smiles again and
says:
"There's only one thing to do forget it.
There Is someone In; here every day
asking me the same question. Some sue
and lose their suits. Others get arrested
and fined for raising a disturbance. One
man I know of is now fighting a $10,000
slander suit on account of the names he
called them for taking an $55 watch.
"There Is only one protection. See
there is an Individual's name over the
door before you deposit anything of
value, or be sure you know all about the
corporation."