I also went over the Prison, and recorded in the visitors'
book my favourable opinion of the arrangements made for the health and
comfort of the prisoners. They appeared to me to be all that could
reasonably be expected, or desired. I also went to see the Kafir school,
carried on under the careful management of the Rev. Mr. and Mrs. M----.
I regretted that time did not permit of my visiting the celebrated
Ostrich Farm of Mr. Arthur Douglass, at Heatherton Towers, about fifteen
miles from Grahamstown. Mr. Douglass has the largest and most successful
Ostrich Farm in the Colony, in addition to which he is the patentee of
an egg hatching machine, or incubator, which is very much used in
various parts of South Africa. The export of feathers has increased
rapidly, and has become one of the chief exports of the Colony, as
whilst in 1868 the quantity exported was valued at L70,000, in 1887 it
had reached the value of L365,587. This is by no means the largest
amount appearing under the head of exports during recent years, as in
1882 the value of feathers exported was L1,093,989. It is estimated that
during the past half-century the total weight of the feathers exported
has been more than one thousand tons.
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