LAMA. 105 



dcnoe for the service of man in those countries where no 

 other animals are qualified to excel in this respect. 



The camel has a small head, short ears, and a long bend- 

 ing neck. Its height, to the top of the dorsal protube- 

 rances, is about six feet and a half. The colour of the 

 hair on the protuberances is dusky, and that on the other 

 parts is reddish ash. It has a long tail, small hoofs, and 

 flat feet, divided above, but not separated. On the legs 

 are six callosities ; and, besides the four stomachs which 

 all ruminating quadrupeds possess, it has a fifth, which 

 serves as a reservoir for carrying a supply of water in the 

 sandy parched deserts that it is obliged to traverse. 



Every part of this animal is applied to some beneficial 

 purpose. Its milk, its flesh, its hair, its urine, and even 

 its dung, are all turned to advantage by man. Its chief 

 utility, however, consists in its being a beast of burden 

 in countries where no other quadruped could live and 

 perform that office. By means of this useful creature, 

 the trade of Turkey, Persia, Arabia, Barbary, and Egypt, 

 is principally carried on. It is not only qualified to carry 

 heavy burdens, but to support extreme abstinence ; and, 

 at the same time, it travels with great expedition. In a 

 word, it is the most tractable and most valuable animal to 

 be found in all the warm regions of the old continent. 



THE LAMA 



Tliis animal has obtained the appellation of the camel 

 in the New World ; it is found, however, only on those 

 mountains which extend from New Spain to the straits of 

 Magellan. Peru seems to be the country where it thrives 

 best, and where its services are most used. It is, indeed, 

 the only native beast of burden which America originally 

 produced. It is far inferior to the camel in strength, speed, 

 and magnitude. Its utility, however, when reclaimed (for 

 numbers run wild) is very great, and entitles it to much 

 consideration, both from the aboriginal natives and the 

 intruding Spaniards ; among whom, in many cases, it con- 

 stitutes a principal article of wealth. In fact, without the 

 F 5 



