ALPACA. 



He further remarks that the flesh of these 



I was jerke.t and made into cntihurtjiii, 



II it, cecina, which kept 



MI verv 



; ;h speei- 



' climate, and thrive best 



in the highlands. Often d->es it happen that 

 they are cov- u>wand sparkling with 



t healthy and contented." > 



same author observes 



that they are wi. , id, inhal)itnr_ r the 



; t are alii i 



i Me adds that 



ft, and that 



on meeting a traveller* or beast of the forest, 

 \iii? and driving their 

 rther affirms that 

 

 : 



that m..- im-diri- 



nally useful in cases of pains in t. 



i >f the body, in consequence of 



sses made 



isso de la Vega, a native of Pern, 

 was th- niard of note who described 



the Camera* de la : are his 



leading remarks: "The domestic animals 

 < tod was pleased to bestow on the In- 

 dians, congenial to their character and like 

 n, are so tractable that a 

 more particularly those 

 med to bear burdens. Generally they 

 are called llamas, and the keeper Uama-micfitc. 

 As a di he larger kind is called hu- 



ding the wild 



one of that name, from which it only differs in 



ane breeds being seen of all hues, 



nes have only one, and that 



is a light brown. The height of the domestic 



breeds is that of a deer, and to no animal can 



they be likened so justly as the camel, except- 



. are smaller and have no hunch 



. was anciently steeped 



in tallow, 11. prepare it, after which 



the Indians used it for shoes, bat the leather 

 not being tanned, they were obliged to go bare- 

 n rainy weather. Of it the Spaniards 

 now make bridles, girths, and cruppers for 

 saddles. The llama formerly served to bear 

 loads from Cnsco to the mines of I 1 



of 800 or ti animal carrying 



three or four arrobas. The paco was chiefly 



valued for its flesh, but more especially for its 



tit excellent, of which the natives 



made cloths, and gave to them beautiful and 



The Peruvian sheep are peculiar to that 

 part of South America, bordering on the Pa- 

 cific, which extends from the equator beyond 

 nc of Capricorn, that long and enor- 

 m?e of mountains known as the Andes 

 ' - pile every 



:ble degree of temperature may be 

 found in sue. lation. Below stretches 



a narrow strip of land, washed by the sea, 

 where the heat is intense and it never rains, 

 but wh ,ws and filtration 



from the mountains, vegetation is luxuriant 

 and an eternal spring reigns. As one ascends, 

 the aspect of the country changes, and new 

 plants appear; but no sooner are the middle 



ALPACA. 



summits gained, and the sun has lost his 

 power, than those cold and icy regions rise up, 

 one above the other, called by the natives 

 punas, which are again crowned with rocky 

 crests, broken by deep ravines and rugged 

 I, and presenting a wilderness of crags 

 and cliffs never trodden by the human footstep, 

 and never darkened, except by a passing 

 cloud, or the eagle's wing. In this land of mist 

 and snow, or rather in the hollows which sur- 

 round it, feed the guanaco and vicuna, at an 

 elevation of 12.000 or 14,000 feet above the 

 level of the sea; while in the lower regions, 

 stretching immediately under the snowy belt, 

 and where the Indian fixes his abode at a 

 height from 8,000 to 12,000 feet, may be seen 

 pasturing those flocks of llamas and alpacas 

 slight, and at the same 

 turn- the principal part of his property. 



Here, amidst broken and precipitous peaks, 

 on the parapets and projecting ledges, slightly 

 1 with earth, or in the valleys formed 

 by the mountain ridges, like the Pyrenean 

 chamois, the llama and alpaca pick up a pre- 

 - subsistence from the mosses, lichens, 

 tender shrubs, and grassy plants which make 

 their apppearance as the snow recedes; or, 

 down, revel in the pajunales, 

 or, as thev are called in some parts of the 

 country, ichuulea natural meadows of the ichtt 

 plant, the favourite haunts of the tame and 

 wild kinds. Thus the hand of man never pre- 

 pares food for either species both readily find 

 it on th' mountains. Besides the ex- 



tremes of cold, these annuals have equally to 

 endure the severities of a damp atmosphere, 

 for while below it seldom rains, in the summer 

 months, when evaporation from the sea is 

 abundant, clouds collect, and being driven 

 over the lower valleys by strong winds from 

 the south and west, and condensed by the cold, 

 luirNt on the highlands, where the rain falls in 

 torrents, amidst the most awful thunder and 

 liirhtning. 



However bleak and damp the situation, little 

 does it matter for an animal requiring neither 

 fold nor manger, and living in wild and deso- 

 late places, where the tender is often obliged 

 to collect the dung of his flock to serve as fuel 

 for himself. Although delicate in appearance, 

 the alpaca is, perhaps, one of the hardiest ani- 

 mals of the creation. His abstinence has 

 already been noticed. Nature has provided 

 him with a thick skin and a warm fleece, and 

 as he never perspires, like the ordinary sheep, 

 he is not so susceptible of cold. There is, 

 therefore, no necessity to smear his coat with 

 tar and butter, as the farmers are obliged to 

 do with their flocks in Scotland, a process 

 which, besides being troublesome and expen- 

 sive, injures the wool, as it is no longer fit to 

 make into white goods, nor will it take light 

 and bright colours. In the severest winter the 

 alpaca asks no extra care, and his teeth being 

 well adapted to crop the rushes and coarse 

 grass with which our moors abound, he will, 

 be satisfied with the refuse left upon them. In 

 a word, he would live where sheep must be iu 

 danger of starving. 



The importations of sheep's wool from Fern 

 into Liverpool, principally alpaca, have st*ad 



