14 THE CAMEL 



being sent to Santa Cruz de Santiago and Lanza- 

 rote, where they are used for carrying merchandise 

 and also in agricultural operations. 



introduc- About fifty years ago, for the first time, some camels 

 New were imported to South America from the Canary 

 Islands, and a few also to the West Indies. Evidently 

 the scheme was a failure, due possibly to the unsuit- 

 ability of the lower lands of tropical America, and the 

 moisture and humidity of these latitudes, but more 

 probably the result, I expect, of the ignorance of those 

 who were in charge of them. As is well known, the 

 llama, which is indigenous to South America, and 

 known as the 'camel of the New World,' is a much 

 smaller animal, and belongs to the Camelidce a small 

 family which includes the camels of the Eastern and 

 the llamas of the Western Hemisphere ; but of these 

 latter it is not my intention to speak. 



A little over thirty years ago in 1857, I believe 

 ten camels were landed in New York, but they very 

 soon died, except one male and one female. This pair 

 were sent to Nevada on account of the soil, which is 

 sandy and covered with prickly shrubs, and they pro- 

 duced in all twenty-four young, all of which survived. 

 These having interbred, the number increased, until in 

 1875 it had reached to ninety-six, all of which were born 

 and bred in Nevada, which speaks volumes in its favour. 

 What has since become of these animals I cannot find 

 out ; but, without wishing to discredit the statement, I 

 would only remark casually that 50 per cent, of newly- 

 born camels are generally supposed to die. Whether, 

 therefore, this is an American story or not, I would not 

 like to say ; but such a very remarkable physiological 



