Show URUGUAY OSTRICH FARMING PROTECTED Owin Owing to the thc growing importance of th the feather industry in Uruguay tho the following report has been prepared by Consul Frederic W. W Coding Goding of Montevideo Montevideo Montevideo Monte Monte- video as a general answer to numer ous letters Jetters of inquiry The native nativo ostrich or Rhea americana of Uruguay anI anti and na resembles too the African bird in m a genera general way but is smaller of a mixed gray color an anti and has bas three toes whereas where where- as the larger arger ics ies has hut but two two A smaller species Rhea is is' is found in Patagonia and seems to range much farther north a third species species cies Rhea being known The males maes are rolv polygamous amous each havin having hav hay in lug ing five fin or six fem females generally keeping keeping leepin keep leep- in ing to together in flocks docks of fifteen lo 10 thirty and are found roaming throughout through through- out the tho open country of Uruguay The Tho average height is five feet feel I t the ho weight I 80 So to pounds each Their food consists of grass rass and insects Several females lay Jay their eggs in ono nest which is merely a hole found anywhere in in the tho ground round The I eggs gs weigh I about two pounds each are of a sordid greenish greenish greenish green green- ish yellow and are sat upon and hatched in forty days solely bv In- Inthe the male The nandus are easily tamed and mav may bo be occasionally seen Reen The Pho wings and tail are con considered considered consid consid- id ered great table fable delicacies the other portions bein being very greasy greaRY and of a fishy flavor The eg eggs s also are relished To secure tho the feathers which have become an important article of export the tho birds at tho the time the tho plumage is full full- arc driven into previously arranged arranged ar ar- ar ranged nets by peons who pun pull out tho l' l feathers fathers They fliey 7 are sorted and graded and placed in their natural state in in parcels pat of three fourths of a a. kilo 16 pounds each when disinfected and placed in boxes ready for export each pach box contains to Kilos to pounds of feathers Each bird hird yields about grams one and a a. third pounds of marketable feathers the best being valued hero at to per pcr kilo 22 pounds the inferior inferior nor grades bringing from to Durin During the tIle year 1908 1008 about kilos pounds were exported ex cx- ported to France United States Spain and ind German Germany the shipments for 1909 being bling nearly kilos pounds sounds The majority of the tho feathers are aro vcr very fine tine som sometimes times equaling and even excelling ex cx- ceiling the African in quality but smaller which is remedied by joining three feathers lengthwise The Tho large arge specially selected feathers used on la Ia- ladies dies hats brin bring 15 to 25 per kilo kio Some Sonto years a ago o there thero were nearly native ostriches in Uruguay lut hut the scarcity of food due to drought and locusts caused many of them to mi migrate rate to Argentina whence they the have llave never novel returned At tho the present timo time there thero are aro about ho thO number havin having been slowly decreasing in ing ng as so many were shot for their feathers fathers However this year tho the government gov gov- eminent of Uru Uruguay has m made de an effort efort ef ef- fort ort to protect them and it is hoped that their numbers will again increase as they are one of the nations nation's s 's I taut ant assets |