ALPACCA SHEEP. 449 



ALPACCA SHEEP. 



THE WOOL TRADE OF ENGLAND IN 1846 IN PERUVIAN AND UNITED STATES WOOL. 



In answer to inquiries about this breed of Peruvian sheep, we scarcely know 

 what to say. As in the case of the revival about Guano, it was no new story 

 to us: More th.-m twenty-five years ago, we not only published a beautiful his- 

 tory and description 8f these sheep, from the polished pen of William Davis 

 Robinson, but caused engravings to be made, from drawings supplied by him, 

 characteristic not only of the Alpacca, but of the Llama, the Vicuna, and the 

 Haanaco ; with the costumes of the shepherds, both natives and descendants of 

 European stock. 



All these will be found in the 3d volume of the American Farmer, for which 

 the sketches were expressly prepared by Mr. Robinson, then in New- York, his 

 first letter being dated 28th of April, 1821. 



There, too, will be found from Mr. Robinson, as elsewhere in the early vol- 

 umes of that work from other sources, interesting accounts of the Arracacha 

 — spoken of in the following letter — a vegetable, at that time, very highly re- 

 commended. General Devereux, always prompt in doing kind and benevolent 

 acts, sent home some of the roots, which were tried under the skillful care of 

 Doctor G. B. Smith of EaUimore, and by him " found wanting." 



If ever we should find the space at command, we will re-produce these essays 

 on the Sheep of Peru, which Mr. Robinson was of opinion might be introduced 

 with great advantage to the United States. For ourselves, we confess we have 

 our doubts. In the East, the climate would seem to forbid ; and in the South- 

 say the mountains of Western Virginia, Carolina and Georgia, which God and 

 Nature intended for sheep-walks, and woolen, and cotton, and iron manufactures 

 — they would be in every way too much exposed. We are positive that in one 

 of his lectures, or on some public occasion. Professor Johnson observed that a 

 friend of his in Scotland had informed him that he had sufficiently experimented 

 to convince him that the attempt to rear them, as a stock sheep in Scotland, 

 could not succeed. How many attempts have been made in England, and with 

 how little success ? and they are not a people to fail, for want of either capital 

 or care, skill or perseverance, in such things. See how they took hold of the 

 Guano, when they got a few bags of it a few years since ! Yet, twenty years 

 or more ago, the writer of these lines told the whole story about Guano, too, 

 from Ulloa and from Humboldt, and even gave the analysis of French chemists 

 of the first renown, whose description has stood the test to this day — and, more- 

 over, distributed two barrels of it. So that we had the history of its uses in 

 Peru, an account of its constituents, and ample specimens for trial of the article 

 itself. What more was needed ? Look at the old volumes of the Americaa . 

 Farmer. But no ! — we are so eternally involved in party politics — every farmer 

 ambitious to bo a great little man — a magistrate, a judge of the Levy court, or a 

 delegate — an ensign, a lieutenant, or a " noble captain " in his district or his 

 county — or otherwise is so much taken up with ideas of " moving to the West " 

 that he loses all, or, rather, never acquires any true relish for his own native 

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