in little bunches panting in the bits of shade thrown by the short bushes .sx In the farmhouse , shutters and doors are closed to keep out the sun ; the farmer himself takes a quiet nap ; and the natives continue resting as before .sx The sheep will give them little trouble ; it is too hot for them to wander far .sx At evening , when the sun is sinking low behind the hill-tops and the sheep are casting long shadows on the earth , they are brought back to the farm , trailing along in " dust clouds made golden with glory of sunset , veiling the sheep and the lambs " :sx ewes and lambs bleating , native boys shrilly crying and cracking their whips :sx one long , slow procession that crosses the plain in single file and never strays .sx This taking of the sheep out and home again by the same route wears away the pasture and does a great deal of damage , but it has been necessary because wild animals would attack the sheep if they were left without protection during the night .sx Now , how-ever , it is becoming the custom to let the sheep feed inside wire fences and to leave them out day after day .sx When they are brought back to the farm , whether at the end of the day or at any other time , they are herded in stone-built kraals on the slope behind the house .sx One of the great days amongst the sheep is that on which the shearing takes place .sx From dawn to twilight may be heard the bleating of the animals , while the usual laughter and chatter .sx of the natives becomes all the noisier and merrier , because at these times they are given an extra allowance of food .sx When the wool has all been sheared , stamped into bales and loaded on a wagon , it is carried to the nearest place where it can be sold .sx The return of the wagon with stores , clothes , and a few luxuries is , in its turn , one of the big excitements of the year .sx In some parts of South Africa , sheep are moved in large numbers in the winter to pastures which are kept for winter grazing .sx This saves the cost of buying food for the animals at a time when the veld , or grassland , produces very little .sx As many as a quarter of a million sheep may be moved in .sx a single season from the Orange Free State and the Transvaal , across the range of mountains known as the Drakensberg , and down to Natal .sx The winter season in South Africa is at the time of our summer , so the movement begins about May or June .sx At the head of the flock may be two or three goats .sx They are bolder than the sheep and lead the way where sheep , by themselves , would fear to go .sx At the end of a day's journey , about ten miles , the herd boys call a halt , make a fire and prepare some food ; they sleep near their herds with nothing above their heads except the purple skies , where , so the Hottentots say , the twinkling stars are the eyes of the dead .sx At one time the farmer and all his family , with the exception of one son who was left at home to look after the farm , usually went on this winter excursion with the sheep .sx They travelled by wagon and carried a certain amount of food with them , but , as they were away from home for four or five months , they had to obtain some of their meat by shooting various kinds of animals .sx Many other things besides food were carried in the wagon ; for instance , as the farmer never knew what accident or sickness might happen to him on the way , he went prepared for the worst , and took his coffin with him !sx IV .sx ON AN OSTRICH FARM .sx Home of the desert bird , oh !sx vast Karroo .sx THE ostrich , a true desert bird , was not , at one time , very common in South Africa , and any feathers that came from this part of the world were obtained from wild birds that were hunted with dogs and guns or caught in pit-falls .sx In 1863 , however , a Boer farmer hit on the idea of rearing ostriches in captivity ; he caught a number of young wild chicks , took them home , tamed them , brought them up and sold their feathers at a good price .sx As soon as it was known that the ostrich was a hardy bird that could be reared in enclosures , hundreds of farmers began to take an interest in these long-legged creatures .sx Ostrich farms were started wherever the soil and climate were suitable , and some men made large fortunes .sx Unfortunately fashions have changed ; ladies no longer wear ostrich feathers as they did , and at present the industry is not very profitable .sx Fashions , how-ever , may change again and the ostrich once more bring wealth to its owner .sx Ostrich farming is an industry in which South Africa leads the world .sx For the production of the .sx best feathers , the bird needs a dry climate and an abundance of good food , and these two things are not usually found in the same place .sx But at Oudtshoorn , on the Little Karroo , though the rainfall is scanty , there are streams from the surrounding mountains and the valleys are bright with orchards , vineyards , orange groves and other cultivation .sx The chief crop is lucerne , a clover-like kind of grass , which is used in the feeding of ostriches and other live stock .sx Thus at Oudtshoorn there is both a dry climate and plenty of food , and this district produces the finest feathers in the world .sx In the early days of the industry , each bird was allowed about twenty acres of ground , but in these times , on the farms about Oudtshoorn , where the birds are fed like poultry , as many as two birds or even more can be reared on a single acre .sx On the larger farms they are kept in pad-docks , each about an acre in extent , surrounded by wire fences .sx Because the ostrich is from six to eight feet tall , the fences have to be high , and because the bird is powerful enough to carry two men at a time on its back , the fences have to be very strong , unless the farmer wants to wake up some morning to find his barricades broken down and his birds enjoying their freedom all over the countryside .sx The male and female ostriches make very industrious and loving parents .sx The male builds the nest by simply digging a round hole in the .sx ground .sx In this the female lays big white or yellowish-white eggs at the rate of about one every other day .sx She very cleverly stands them on one end till the nest is full , when she carelessly scatters any more on the ground round about .sx These eggs each weigh about three pounds , that is , about as much as two dozen ordinary hens' .sx eggs , and the shells are so large that the natives use them for holding and carrying water .sx If the eggs are to be hatched out by the birds themselves the mother sits on them all day , the father all the night .sx But it is now the custom to remove them from the nest as soon as they are laid , and hatch them by keeping them in incubators for a period of forty days .sx It is not easy to take the eggs from the nest , as the birds , particularly the male , are very fierce at the breeding season , and are powerful enough to knock a man .sx down and rip his body open with their big strong .sx feet .sx As a rule the farmer carries , to protect him .sx from attack , either a thorn bush or a forked stick .sx In the first case the ostrich keeps away from the thorns because it dislikes to have its neck pricked ; in the second case the forked stick keeps the bird's head away from the man's body , so that he is too far off to be kicked .sx The little chicks , plump and round , with big eyes and baby faces , grow at an amazing rate and shoot up ten or twelve inches every month .sx They are not allowed .sx to go into the enclosure , but are most carefully .sx looked after in order that their feathers may not .sx suffer from dirt or damp .sx They are fed on wheat , .sx barley , or kaffir corn , but they also swallow .sx crumbled bones and bits of stone , which help to .sx grind up their food inside their bodies .sx Later on , they may eat what they please ; old ostriches have been known to gulp down rusty iron and ancient keys , to snatch and swallow a brooch or other bright object from a lady visitor , and even to try to taste a cigar or a lighted pipe .sx As more and more ostriches hatch out , work on the farm steadily increases , for there are many more birds to be fed ; every fortnight , too , there is a kind of roll-call to see that none of them is missing , also a careful inspection to see that none is ill , or attacked by any of the numerous pests and vermin that breed so quickly under the hot African sun .sx To tame the chicks they are taken from their parents and put in charge of a native .sx boy who leads them out for walks ; in time they learn to follow him as a dog follows its master .sx When old enough , the young ones join their parents in the kraal , or enclosure , and as father knows that exercise is good for health , he walks them up and down all day long , striding along with a tremendous swagger and flapping his giant wings .sx If any of the smaller members of his family show any signs of laziness , a kick , a scratch or a peck brings them back to their duty .sx When the young ostrich is eight or nine months old , the first crop of feathers is gathered .sx At one time the feathers were pulled out by the roots , a method that was not only painful but some-times harmful to the ostrich .sx Now the birds are collected in a corner of the kraal ; a kind of hood fastened to the end of a long stick is cleverly drawn over the head of a selected bird , in order to blindfold it , after which it is hustled by four or five natives into a strong wooden pen with a door at each end .sx The ostrich enters by the back door , which is then quickly fastened , and as the front door is already closed , the bird is at the mercy of the cutters .sx The pen is just wide enough and just long enough to allow the ostrich to stand comfortably , but does not allow it room to kick .sx Two men lean over the sides and cut off the feathers they want .sx As the bird is young , the quills have not had time to harden , and about eight weeks later the stumps can be pulled out easily and painlessly .sx All the time the men are at work , the ostrich is making up its mind to have its revenge .sx If the hood has not come off , all may be well ; when the cutting is finished , the hood is slipped off quickly , the front door is opened , and out goes the offended creature , not knowing who has been stripping it of its feathers .sx But if the hood has come off , the ostrich gives its captors a wicked glance that means " I know you .sx You wait till I get out .sx " And as soon as it is free it chases them round and round the pen until driven away .sx If the bird is particularly strong and angry , the men are in danger of having a limb broken , or even of losing their lives .sx Sometimes they defend themselves by striking at the legs of the ostrich with a stick , but this may end in its legs being broken , and then it has to be killed .sx A farmer has been known , if very strong and quick , to grasp the bird by the neck , keep out of the way of the feet , and spin his prisoner round and round till it was giddy .sx