334? 
THE ALPACA.-NO. 6.-SAUSAGE STUFFEll. 
THE ALPACA.—No. 6. 
Introduction of the Alpaca into Europe .—The 
greatest number of llamas that were ever carried to 
Europe at one time, was a herd that arrived at 
Cadiz, in 1808. It originally consisted of thirty-six 
individuals, including the sorts called llamas, 
alpacas, and vicunas. They were brought from 
Lima, in Peru, and Concepcion, in Chili, to Buenos 
Ayres, by slow journeys of two or three leagues. 
They were fed on the road with potatoes, maize, 
and hay; but when their supply of potatoes was 
exhausted they became so constipated, that it was 
necessary to afford them medical relief. Eleven 
only of the number arrived at Cadiz, of which two 
died there. These animals were carried to Europe 
as a present from Godoy (Prince ^of Peace), to the 
Empress Josephine; but they arrived just at the 
eriod of his disgrace, at the commencement of the 
panish Revolution ; and the populace, in hatred of 
their late minister, were about to throw the llamas 
into the sea. The governor of Cadiz, however, 
rescued them ; and they were given in charge to an 
eminent Spaniard, Don Francisco de Theran, who 
had a fine zoological garden at San Lucar de Barra- 
meda, in Andalusia. The French armies having 
subsequently traversed this province, Marshal 
Soult took the llamas under his care; and Monsieur 
Bory de Saint Vincent, a distinguished French 
naturalist, who accompanied the army, studied their 
habits with great attention, and made some draw¬ 
ings of them, which were afterwards lost at the 
battle of Vittoria. He paid particular attention to 
the quality of their wool, and transmitted some 
specimens of each sort to the Academy of Sciences, 
at Paris. It appears from the report of M. de Saint 
Vincent and Don Francisco de Theran, that the 
fleece of the alpa-vigonia (the cross between the 
vicuna and the alpaca) is much longer and six 
times heavier, than that of any other variety. 
The first account of this interesting race of qua¬ 
drupeds as having been introduced into Britain, was 
that of the beautiful white and brown female 
alpaca exhibited by Mr. Cross, in the Surrey 
Zoological Gardens, from 1810 to 1816, and is no¬ 
ticed and figured in page 217 of the present volume. 
In a letter to Mr. Walton, dated May 2d, 1843, Mr. 
Cross gives the result of his experience in regard to 
this animal in the following words :— 
“ As you are desirous of having the result of my 
observations relative to the alpacas which have 
fallen under my notice, I beg to say that the first 
one brought to this country came into my posses¬ 
sion after being for two years in that of Mr. De 
Tastet, of Halshead, inEssex, who exchanged it with 
— Tharpe, Esq., of Chippenham Park, near New¬ 
market, for a pair of magnificent coach-horses. 
The latter gentleman kept it for about two years, in 
the hope that one might arrive from Peru of a dif¬ 
ferent sex, as he was anxious to breed from them in 
consequence of the fineness of their wool. Disap¬ 
pointed in his object, I bought it of him for one 
hundred guineas, and exhibited it about six years; 
consequently it must have been eleven or twelve 
years old when it died. 
“ It was fonder of browsing than grazing. One 
remarkable fact I cannot help mentioning, and that 
iS, that it never drank anything during the whole 
time I had it, though repeatedly offered drink. I 
fed it upon bran, oats, carrots, and hay; occasion¬ 
ally in the season with a little green tares. Its wool 
was about eighteen inches long, mixed with some 
trifling portions of hair. It was remarkably tame, 
and 1 may say affectionate. I have since had seve¬ 
ral others of various colors, some quite black, 
and others piebald, &c. Having had them so often, 
I let them take their chance in the stalls, giving 
them the opportunity of running into a paddock, 
and they always did well. The last pair I had 
were perfectly black, and I sold them to Mr. Adve- 
nant, who immediately took them over to the King 
of Bavaria. The late King of Wirtemburg, and 
other continental monarchs, also had some of me. 
I think they might be introduced into some parts of 
this country with great advantage, particularly in 
the hilly parts of Scotland and Ireland, where they 
could have an opportunity of browsing as well as 
grazing. Occasionally they will breed with the 
llama; and a more elegant animal than the offspring 
cannot be imagined, but whether the latter will 
breed again, I cannot say.” 
About the time Mr. Cross was exhibiting his in¬ 
teresting specimen, the late Duchess of York had 
four or five llama and alpaca pets at Oatlands, 
where she took great delight in watching their 
sportive antics on the lawn, or contemplating their 
intelligent and expressive countenances, greatly re¬ 
sembling that of the gazelle. They ran the chance 
of all exotics, whether animal or vegetable ; left to 
the care of servants who, when the master and the 
mistress are away, usually treat them as mere mat¬ 
ters of course, and often with a strong feeling of 
prejudice. When the Duchess died, these pets ne¬ 
cessarily were dispersed ; and, in all probability, at 
that early period breeding with them was deemed 
an impracticability. They, however, lived long 
enough at Oatlands to render it apparent that they 
are of a hardy race, although the old and plain- 
spoken park-keeper has more than once been heard 
to say, that, while under his charge, they were not 
in their proper element, the grass being too firm — 
meaning too rich and good. 
SAUSAGE STUFFER. 
Sausage Stuffer.—Fig. 78. 
This ingenious contrivance will save the labor 
of eight or ten persons in filling sausages, and the 
work is performed with the greatest facility, and in 
the most perfect manner. To those who have only 
a few sausages to make, this machine is certainly 
worthy of attention. Price $4.50 to $5. 
Do not forget to arrange your fall and winter’s 
work so as to send your boys to school Be kind 
to your flocks, and remember the poor. 
