856 



Popular Science Monthly 



A special pair of steel braces was used to 

 straighten the crooked legs of this valu- 

 able baby llama 



Straightening a Baby Llama's 

 Knock-Knees 



IF mechanics had not come to the 

 rescue of a vahiable baby llama at 

 the Cincinnati Zoological Gardens, he 

 Avould be a useless little llama now. 

 Llamas with knock-knees are not wanted 

 by any zoological garden. 



He was made a perfectly good llama 

 by the use of a special pair of steel 

 braces so constructed that they would 

 straighten out the crooked legs and in 

 the meantime allow him to enjoy life 

 by frisking around with his mother like 

 an ordinary baby llama. 



To accomplish this unusual task of 

 straightening out the legs, a pair of 

 steel braces were constructed, each 

 having six straps so attached that they 

 buckled around the legs. Thus the 

 braces were held securely in place. The 

 straps were tightened day by day and 

 gradually drew the legs closer and 

 closer to the steel braces so as to straight- 

 en out the curves. 



At first the little llama refused to walk 



with the braces on his legs. Soon he 

 got over this and frisked about with 

 his mother as if the stays were not on his 

 legs at all. Freedom of movement was 

 accomplished by hinging the braces at 

 the knees, so that they could bend 

 naturally in walking. 



It took two weeks to draw the legs 

 into normal position. As a matter of 

 safety, the braces were left in place until 

 the legs became strong enough to bear 

 the weight of the animal. 



Vegetation that Thrives Where 

 Water Is Scarce 



THE weather in the deserts of our 

 great Southwest is such that only 

 three months in the spring are sufficient- 

 ly moist to permit any considerable 

 vegetable growth. The cactuses, which 

 are practically the only form of vegeta- 

 tion courageous enough to live in such 

 arid regions, protect themselves in an 

 almost human way against destruction. 

 The outer coat of the barrel cactus, 

 shown in the illustration, is almost as 

 strong as bark and is armed with long 

 formidable spines, arranged in rows of 

 clusters. These rows are an effective 

 barrier to most animals seeking the 

 inside of the cactus, which is composed 

 of pith soaked full of water. The water 

 is stored up during the short rainy 

 season, as squirrels store nuts for winter. 



A traveler quenching his thirst from a 

 barrel cactus 



