side of Midway Plaisance, and presently reached the enclosure
where the ostriches were. There were twenty-three, full-grown, all from
California. The sight was an interesting one to both the grown people and
the children, and all listened attentively to the remarks of the
exhibitor, delivered in solemn tones, in regard to the habits of the
birds. He spoke of the male bird as most kind and self-forgetful in his
treatment of his mate, or mates, saying it was he who built the nest and
obtained the food; also that he would sit on the eggs in the nest for
sixteen hours at a stretch, while the mother did the same for only eight
hours. He had other things also to tell of the domineering of the female
over the male, which caused some merriment among the ladies and girls of
our party; to the gentlemen also, though they pretended to highly
disapprove. But all laughed together over the ridiculous movements of the
flock in passing from one side of the grounds to another.

"What do they eat, papa?" asked Ned.

"Corn, grasses, seeds of various kinds," replied his father. "They swallow
large stones too, as smaller birds swallow sand to help grind up the food
in the gizzard, and, indeed, ostriches have been known to swallow bits of
iron, shoes, copper coins, glass, bricks, and other things such as you
would think no living creature would want to eat."

"They look very big and strong, papa," remarked the little boy, gazing at
them with great interest.

"Yes; they are so strong that one can easily carry two men on his back."

"Is that what they are good for, papa?"

"That is one thing; and their feathers are very valuable. For that reason
ostrich farms have been established for the raising of the birds, and have
proved very profitable."

"Don't folks eat ostriches, papa?" asked Elsie.

"Sometimes a young one; and their eggs are eaten too. They are so large
that each one is about equal to two dozen ordinary hen's eggs; to cook one
they usually set it up on end over a fire, and having first broken a hole
in the top, they stir it with a forked stick while it is cooking. The
shells are very thick and strong and the Africans use them for water
vessels."

"Do they have nests to lay their eggs in, like our chickens?" asked Ned.

"They do not take the pains in building a nest that most other birds do,"
replied his father, "but merely scoop a hole in the sand. One male usually
appropriates to himself from two to seven females and each h