LIVE STOCK AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS 339 



during the Civil War the camels were neglected and the ex- 

 periment was allowed to lapse. 



LLAMA AND ALPACA 



These interesting cameloid ruminants of South America are 

 commonly supposed to be domesticated races of the wild gua- 

 naco and vicuna. The alpaca is of more compact build and 

 has a heavier coat of hair. The alpaca is mostly black in color, 

 while the llama is commonly white with brown or black mark- 

 ings. The alpaca is considered decidedly of the more value 

 and its long, fine, silky wool of metallic luster is much prized 

 for use in certain fabrics. In 1914, the United States imported 

 about 1,000,000 pounds of alpaca wool. The alpaca extends 

 from the Equator to Cape Horn and the total production of 

 alpaca hair amounts to several million pounds annually. Thus 

 far all attempts to acclimatize the alpaca in Europe or Australia 

 have failed. This animal is also used to some extent for meat. 



The llama is the only native work animal of South America. 

 The males are used as pack animals and are commonly made 

 to carry from 80 to 90 pounds in the pack. The females are 

 shorn for their wool which is decidedly inferior to that of the 

 alpaca. Like the latter the llama is also used as a food animal. 



ELEPHANT 



Zoologists distinguish between the African and Asiatic ele- 

 phant. The male African elephant stands about 10 feet high 

 at the withers at maturity and weighs 4 or 5 tons. The female 

 is smaller than in the Asiatic species. The male Asiatic ele- 

 phant is about 8 or 9 feet in height at the withers and weighs 

 2 or 3 tons. 



The elephant becomes fully mature at about 25 years of age 

 and lives to be 125 to 150 years old. He may be bred in cap- 

 tivity without great difficulty but most domesticated elephants 



