Ostrich Feathers.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 19 June 1914, Page 2

Ostrich Feathers.

WHEN THE BIRDS ARE BLIND-

FOLDED

A very samll proportion of our ostrich feathers comes from the wild birds nowadays. Twenty years ago there were but few ostrich farms, a-nd the great majority of ostrich feathers came from wild birds which were killed by the hunters in South Africa. Of course, after tha ostriches were killed the feathers were pulled out, but now that the ostrich farms thrive and the birds are stripped of their plume feathers and turned loose to grow more greater care has to be taken. The white ostrich feathers are not fully developed. There are also bkick and drab feathers on the same bird, but when thQ white feathers are fully developed they lose a great deal of their whiteness, and i-n the olden clays had to be bleached. Now the ostriches are blind-folded with a hood on the farms and led into a sort of crate-like coop, where the black and drab feathers ar<-> carefully pulled out; but.the wi I c feathers are never pulled out, as this would so damage the great sockets in which the large quills grow that no >more would be forthcoming, so the quills of the white feathers are 'carefully cut oft and the quills allowed to remain for se\eral months when they'come out nalurally and the new feathers start. Fifty years ago there were only eighty.two tame ostriches known in all South Africa. And in that year only sixteen pounds of feathers were exported, and they came for the most part from wild birds, brought, down by the hunters. Last year there were about 800,000 domesticated ostriches in South Africa, and nearly 900,000 pounds of feathers were exported at a value of more than a quarter of a million sterling, j

A dispute arose between a landlord and his tenant. The latter had given notice to quit, but would not put a bill in his window to say that his house was "To be Let." To make matters worse, they went to law about it. The judge, having heard the case, made an order for the defendant to put a bill up within fourteen days. The landlord was so overjoyed at his victory that on the fourteenth day he took a friend with him round to the house to chalT his tenant. The bill was up in the window plain enough, but under it was another bill, which ran as follows :— "Cause of leaving—bad drains."