ALPACA. 
come up. In many of their habits, they are like 
sheep in a flock. Thus, when they see men ap- 
proaching in different directions on horseback, 
they soon become bewildered, and know not which 
way torun. This greatly facilitates the Indian 
method of hunting, for they are thus easily driven 
to a central point and encompassed.” ‘The flesh 
of the guanaco, though good, is inferior to that: 
of the domesticated llama. 
The alpaca is as large as the guanaco, but pro- 
portionately shorter in the limbs; it is less fleet 
than the guanaco, yet resembles it in general 
habits; it frequents a higher and colder range of 
elevation, and is frequently seen with herds of 
the vicugna; its forehead, instead of being re- 
gularly arched to the nose, rises abruptly promi- 
nent above the eyes; its colour is occasionally 
black, but usually a deep fawn; and its wool is 
long, silky, delicately fine, and disposed in long 
flakes or tassels. Mr. W. Dawson, at the ninth 
and tenth meetings of the British Association, 
held in Birmingham and Glasgow, exhibited na- 
tive samples of alpaca wool, and manufactured 
undyed specimens in imitation of silk, as black 
as jet; and he urged that the animals producing 
it ought to be propagated in England, Ireland, 
Scotland, and Wales, and stated that it was emi- 
nently adapted by its natural habits to at least 
the Scottish and the Welsh highlands. The wool 
| of the specimens exhibited was from six to twelve 
inches in length. Alpaca wool became known to 
the British manufacturer only about the year 
1834; and the quantity of Peruvian wool, prin- 
cipally alpaca, imported into Britain during the 
six following years was 8,000 bales in 1835, 12,800 
in 1836, 17,500 in 1837, 25,765 in 1838, 34,543 in 
1839, and 34,224 in 1840. The total consump- 
tion of alpaca wool in this country, in the seven 
years ending December 1843, is estimated by Mr. 
Walton at 12,000,000 lbs. 
The vicugna or vicuna is a smaller animal, and 
more slender in its proportions, than either the 
guanaco or the alpaca. Its limbs are thin; its 
neck is attenuated and curved somewhat like 
that of the swan ; its forehead is broad and pro- 
minent, yet not so abrupt as that of the alpaca; 
its muzzle is narrow; its head is short; its eyes 
are large; its ears are long; the ‘height of its 
body at the tip of the shoulder is about two feet 
and a half; its colour is a pale yellowish white, 
passing into white on the under parts; and its 
wool is extremely delicate and soft, resembles the 
fur of the beaver, is from one inch to three inches 
in length, and possesses the property of resisting 
‘heat, so as to be a most suitable material for the 
manufacture of caps. The vicugna, except for 
having no horns, and being rather large, might 
very readily be mistaken for a goat; it lives in 
herds, and has great swiftness of foot; it is in- 
vigorated, rather than annoyed, by frost and 
snow; it closely resembles the chamois of the 
Kuropean alps in agility, vigilance, wildness, and 
precipitous retreats, on bleak and elevated ranges 
of the mountains, close cn the region of perpetual 
snow. It occurs in Chili, but is found principally 
in the Cordilleras of Copiapo, Coquimbo, and Peru; 
it was, at one time, very numerous, but has now 
become much more rare. For the sake of its 
wool alone, thousands of individuals of it are 
annually killed by every method of ensnarement 
and assault. We have given a very accurate re- 
presentation of this species in Plate IV. (ug. 1. 
All the species and varieties of the llama, but 
particularly the alpaca and the vicugna, hold so 
conspicuous and valuable a place among wool- 
bearing animals, that one might have expected 
them to be introduced to Kurope, and domesti- 
cated upon the mountains of Spain, Italy, Swit- 
zerland, Germany, and Great Britain, with all 
possible speed after the conquest of America. 
Europeans found some domesticated, and the 
others domesticable, throughout Chili and Peru; 
they observed and admired their rich combina- 
tion of useful properties, and their remarkable 
adaptation to new and difficult situations; they — 
saw their wool to be singularly fine and silky, 
and to be easily convertible into woven fabrics by | 
even the clumsy manipulations of the Indians; 
and yet, with a surpassing indifference which 
excites our highest astonishment, neither they | 
nor their successors of eight generations seem to 
have formed a thought of introducing the hardy 
and rich wool-bearing race to the countries of 
Europe. Now, however—though in a very in- 
ferior degree to what the interests of stock far- 
mers, of fabric-manufacturers, and of the whole 
community demand—attention to the lama 
genus as a suitable line for very upland districts, 
has been generally excited throughout Great Bri- 
tain. “Mr. Bennet of Faringdon,” says Mr. Wal- 
ton, in his Memoir of the year 1841, “had a pair 
of llamas sent to him from Peru, twenty years 
ago, and fed them as sheep are usually fed, with 
hay and turnips, in the winter. From his own 
experience, he found that they are particularly 
hardy and very long lived. He increased his 
stock, and has actually had six females at a time 
which have had young ones. Of these, very few 
have died. The number of Peruvian sheep in 
the kingdom at present (July 1841) may be esti- 
mated thus;—the Harl of Derby, Knowsley Hall, 
Lancashire, sixteen; the Marquis of Breadal- 
bane, one; the Duke of Montrose, three; Earl 
Fitzwilliam, one; Zoological Gardens, Phoenix 
Park, Dublin, six; Zoological: Gardens, Regent’s 
Park, two; J. J. Hegan, Esq., Harrow - Hall, 
Cheshire, seven; Charles Tayleure, Esq, Park- 
field, near Liverpool, five; John Edwards, Esq., 
Pye-Nest, Halifax, six; Mr. Stephenson, Oban, 
six; William Bennett, Esq., twelve; Mr. Cross, Sur- 
rey Zoological Gardens, one ; Mr. Atkins, Zoolo- 
gical Gardens, Liverpool, three; and in travel- 
ling caravans, four ;—total, seventy-nine. Lately 
six more arrived in Liverpool. The existence of 
this number among us, supported by their healthy 
timidity ; and it frequents the most rocky and 
