TIIK ALPACV.] 



AND TIT I'll: VARIOUS BREEDS. [si-amsii meuino. 



finally, arrived at Laj^una Blanca. Beinj; 

 satislietl that ho had now arrived at a dc- 

 sirablo spot for the propagation of the speciea, 

 not only did he, in time, aequiro a new flock 

 of alpacas, acclimatised to temperatures less 

 pure and rigorous than tliose in which their 

 predecessors had been reared, but succeeded 

 in educating them, to a certain extent, for the 

 great voyage which lay before them. For him- 

 self and people he built a hut of stones, which 

 furnished an indillercnt shelter from the in- 

 clen.cncy of the weather. For the animals, 

 large yards were enclosed, and provided with 

 troughs, in which they were supplied with 

 their daily rations of dry alfalfa, cut up and 

 mixed with bran, to which they became grad- 

 ually accustomed. Twice was Mr. Ledger 

 arrested by the authorities, and twice did he 

 effect his escape — once by exercising his medical 

 skill in the cure of the wife of the detaining 

 prefect, and next by mixing laudanum with 

 the grog of his military custodier. 



The safe arrival at Sydney nf the flock of 

 alpacas was a great evidence of the skill, daring, 

 and perseverance of Mr. Ledger, and deserves 

 grateful acknowledgments on the part of a 

 discerning public. " We hope," says the editor 

 of the Sydney Morning Herald, "that it will 

 be found that the enterprise will pay in some 

 measure for the labour and the sacrifice. It 

 is, unfortunately, too true that benefactors 

 are themselves rarely benefited ; that the cost 

 of experience, and the toil of primary steps 

 towards success, often obtain no return for 

 those who first adventure on a new under- 

 taking. Thus, the fate of inventors and dis- 

 coverers is proverbial. It requires time to test 

 the value of their labours — to silence detrac- 

 tion — to realise the fruits of their enterprise — 

 to place their merits conspicuously before the 

 world ; and it often happens that those who 

 have most served mankind, never hear the 

 unmixed melody of praise : their services are i 

 only appreciated when it is impossible to reward 

 them," Tlie government of New South AVales 

 purchased Mr, Ledger's flock for £15,000, and | 

 secured his services for five years, allowing him 

 £1,300 per annum for their maintenance and 

 superintendent* — Such is a condensed narra- 

 tive of only some of the difficulties which 

 attended the introduction of this valuable 

 •animal to the shores of Australia. I 



TIIK SPANISH MKRI.NO SHKi:i'. 

 Among tho breeds of Europe whicii have 

 attained to tho highest celebrity, and bv nu-ans 

 of which, through juiiiciouH erossin^r, tlie hheep 

 of Saxony, Prus.sia, Austria, and England have 

 been greatly improved as respt'cts the quality 

 of tho fleece, is tho far-famed Merino of Spain. 

 The term "Merino" alludes to the over-sea 

 origin of tho race; and there are good grounds 

 lor believwig tliat the.se Spani.-iii sheep are 

 originally of British extraction, being of the 

 old Ryland or Cotswold stock. Stow and 

 Baker, in their Clironicles, say — " This yero 

 (llGl), King Edward IV. gave a licence to 

 pass over certain Cotteswoldo sheep into 

 Spain." Baker adds— " King Edward IV, 

 enters into a league with King Joliu of Arra- 

 gon, to w hom ho sent a score of Costal ewes 

 and four lambs," 



This is a breed so far superior to all others 

 of the ovine race, for the production of fine 

 wool for the manufacture of our most costly 

 cloths, that its breeding and culture have 

 received the greatest attention in every quarter 

 of the globe. There is no country where these 

 efforts have better succeeded than in Spain, 

 except, perhaps, in Australia, where the breed 

 has been brought to the higliest perfection. 

 The origin of this breed is involved in dark- 

 ness ; but it is supposed to have been introduced 

 from Barbary, probably about the time when 

 the Saracens were making their conquests in 

 the Iberian peninsula. This, however, is mere 

 conjecture ; but Spain has long been distin- 

 guished for the exc(?llent quality of her wools. 

 Ancient writers make several allusions to this 

 fact; and Columella mentions a cross made with 

 the Tarentine breed by his uncle, a farmer or 

 herdsman of Bootia. This was effected with 

 some wild rams of an extraordinary colour, 

 which had been imported to Cadiz from Africa. 

 The Bffitis, or Guadalquivir, was said to have 

 brown or grey wool; and Pliny remarks that 

 it had a red covering. Martial was a Spaniard, 

 and he praises the wool of BoBtia] whilst Strabo, 

 speaking of that of Turdentia, says — "Much 

 cloth used formerly to come to this country. 

 Now, also, fleeces come from it more than from 

 Coraxi, and they are exceedingly beautitul, 

 so that rams for breeding are sold for a talent 

 each. Also the fuie tvebs are very famous, 



(j99 



