216 
THE ALPACA.- NO. 2 . 
be mentioned the successful introduction of the 
European cod, a few years since, into the lakes of 
Scotland, where, it is said, they propagate freely, 
but, unfortunately, deteriorate in flavor. I have 
recently been told that the American cod ( Morrhua 
americana ) was introduced from the sea, at Hamp¬ 
ton, a year or two ago, into Lake Winnipissiogee, 
in New Hampshire, where they have already began 
to multiply, and it is thought will succeed well. 
It will also be seen by referring to vol. 3, p. 259, 
of the American Agriculturist, that Mr. R. L. Pell, 
of Ulster county, N. Y., was attempting to “ fresh- 
waterize” some American shad ( Alosa prcestabilis) 
which he had caught in the Hudson, in front of his 
farm, and speedily placed in one of his ponds. 
These fish are said still to exist in their confined 
habitation, and have begun to breed; but how far 
the experiment will prove available, in point of 
profit, yet remains to be known. 
New York, June 10, 1846. D’Jay Browne. 
THE ALPACA.—No. 2. ! 
’ On no two points, according to our informant, do 
the early writers on Peru so perfectly agree, as in 
the number of species of the Andes sheep, and the 
purposes to which the Incas applied them. They 
state, as already observed in our last No., that 
there were four kinds, two tame and two wild—a 
fact too well established to admit of a doubt; and, 
as our avowed object in laying these sketches be¬ 
fore the public, is to throw light, and elicit the in¬ 
quiry, whether the rearing of the alpaca is appli¬ 
cable to the soil, climate, and rural industry of the 
United States, we shall not enter into these nice 
distinctions, but regard them as coming within the 
sphere of the practical zoologist, rather than under 
any effort of ours. 
The Alpaca or Paco of Cuvier.—Fig. 55. 
Geographical Distribution. —The Alpaca (Camelus 
paco, of Linnaeus; Auchenia glama v. alpaca, of 
Cuvier) in its natural habitat,, in common with its 
congener the llama, abounds on the Andes, where 
its absence or presence is observed, as the summits 
of these vast mountains become elevated or de¬ 
pressed. Thus it ranges considerably below the 
line of perpetual snow, from Chili to New Granada 
(but not Mexico), without reaching the isthmus of 
Panama, at which point the Cordillera has a less 
elevation than is suited to its nature and wants. 
The point nearest to the equator at which Andes 
sheep were originally noticed, is said to be Rio 
Bamba, situated in latitude 1° 38'S., about ninety 
miles southwest of Quito, and not far from the 
snow-capped mountains of Chimborazo. The town 
stands 11,670 feet above the level of the sea, to 
which elevation the temperature of the air corres¬ 
ponds. In this tropical region, and consequently 
on a spot where excessive heats might be expected 
during the rhonth of August, the two Ulloas re¬ 
marked that, towards evening, the thermometer 
regularly fell two or three degrees below the freez¬ 
ing point, and next morning rose eight or twelve 
above it, which would indicate that, at certain 
elevations, no land is exempt from the dominion of 
frost. 
Although, from the point above mentioned, across 
the equator, the climate becomes milder, and vege¬ 
tation more abundant, it has been remarked that the 
wild species do not pass the line, but continue sta¬ 
tionary there—a phenomenon for which some 
Peruvian writers have endeavored to account, by 
alleging, that the ycho or ichu plant, a coarse grass, 
and the favorite food of both the tame and wild 
species, does not extend further towards the north. 
It has been remarked by physiologists, that the 
size of animals is usually adapted to the nature of 
the country which they are born to Inhabit. This 
is not the case in the present instance; and 
whether we consider the great extent of the Andes 
mountains, their stupendous forms, the immense 
elevation of their summits, or the severity of the 
climate prevailing upon them, the more shall we 
be astonished at the diminutive size and delicate 
frame of the quadrupeds dwelling in those secluded 
recesses. The woolly natives, nevertheless, pos¬ 
sess a hardiness of constitution, and a peculiarity 
of structure, admirably well adapted to the nature 
of their birth-place. There, during half the year, 
snow and hail fall incessantly, whilst in the higher 
regions, as before noticed, nearly every night the 
thermometer falls below the freezing point, and the 
peaks, consequently, are perpetually covered with an 
accumulation of ice. The wet season succeeds, 
when flashes of lightning traverse the clouds in 
rapid succession; the thunder rolls through the 
firmament in rumbling and prolonged peals, fol¬ 
lowed not by showers, but by torrents of rain, 
which, after collecting, fall headlong from the 
rocks, or pour into the crags and chasms, leaving 
the slopes bare of soil, and spreading desolation 
wherever they pass, till at length the stream is lost 
in some lake, or serves to swell the head waters of 
a river. 
It is astonishing that the temperature of the air 
on mountains so peculiarly situated, and exposed to 
the full blaze of a vertical sun, should be so much 
chilled as almost to present the desolate aspect of 
the arctic regions ; and yet such are the tracts of 
land upon which the Andes sheep abound and 
thrive—the flocks, more especially those of alpacas, 
being still, comparatively speaking, considerable in 
the vicinity of Rio Bamba, where the inhabitants 
evince a great aptitude for woollen manufactures, 
and carry on a trade in the raw material ^f alpaca 
and vicuna wools the women knit stockings. 
