“An acre of alfalfa will support four ostriches with no other food than gravel and ground bone. A cow will require the same amount of alfalfa, but at the end of five years she is worth forty or fifty dollars, while the four five-year-old ostriches are worth a thousand dollars. A bird will yield a hundred dollars’ worth of feathers a year, besides the eggs, which, even if they are not productive of little ostriches, bring a good price as curios.
“Ostrich plumes vary in price, from ten to one hundred and fifty dollars a pound, so you see it is worth money to the ostrich farmer, not only to have good birds, but to keep them in the best condition, for the better the bird the better the product.
“It costs about ten dollars a year to keep a bird; that is, to feed it. The ostrich farm at Pasadena is one of the show places there, and thousands of tourists visit it every year. Another good feature of the ostrich is that he lasts so long. None in this country has died of old age yet, and it is supposed that they will live seventy-five years.”
French Story of Bravery.
A French battalion occupied Mezieres in order to guard the bridges over the Meuse River. One detachment had hardly arrived at the railroad bridge when its officer, Lieutenant de Lupel, was informed that a German patrol was hidden in the station. The French at once attacked and drove the Germans here and there among the heaps of coal and the buildings. The French officer followed the German officer into the roundhouse, revolver in hand, and caught sight of him crouching behind a tender. The two men looked at each other. Mutual respect and a tacit understanding sprang up. With fifteen paces between them, each took up a dueling position. “Kindly fire,” cried the Frenchman, just as his ancestors had cried at Fontenoy under similar circumstances. The German fired and missed. Then the Frenchman slowly raised his arm and fired, killing his opponent.
He returned to his men, aided them to overcome the Germans’ last stand, and walked away coolly at the head of his battalion.
Nail Snaps from Box to Eye.
Joseph R. Henderson, proprietor of an Egg Harbor, N. J., poultry plant, was opening a box when a nail snapped from the box and entered the eyeball. He was taken to the Atlantic City Hospital. At this time it is not known whether he will lose the sight of the eye.
Woman’s Throw Hits Mark.
Mrs. Dervin Shumaker, of Jackson township, Pa., noticed a large hawk feasting on her chickens. Picking up a stone, the woman threw it at the intruder. The stone struck the hawk on the head, killing the bird. She took the hawk to a justice of the peace and received forty cents bounty.