The extension of railways in Peru is destined to aid greatly in the development of one of the most promising industries of the country, the raising of cattle, sheep, alpacas, and other live stock. On the high tablelands of Cajamarca, Junín, Ayacucho, and Puno, and in the upper valleys of Cuzco, the climate and pasturage are particularly adapted to cattle-farming and to the production of a hardy kind of sheep, easily cared for and capable of great improvement under scientific culture. The difficulties of transportation formerly interfered with success in cattle-raising; but, with the building of new railways that furnish facilities in shipping the cattle, hides, and wool from the interior, this industry has received great encouragement and is now in a more thriving condition than ever before. Some of the large ranges of the plateau cover an area of more than a hundred square miles and afford pasturage for twenty-five thousand head of cattle. On the plains of Puno, thousands of cattle, sheep, and alpaca are pastured, the wool industry receiving especial attention in this department, which may be called the “wool-growing state” of Peru.

The cattle of Cajamarca, La Libertad, Ancash, Junín, Lima, and Arequipa are the best, as in these regions there is abundance of lucerne, grass, sorghum, and other good pasturage. In these departments, also, the native stock has been improved by crossing with foreign varieties, imported for the purpose. The criollo cattle, the result of cross-breeding, are a fine race, and good for dairy purposes, cows giving as much as three or four gallons of milk daily. The imported cattle usually belong to well-known European stock, chiefly the Holstein, Brown Swiss, Ayrshire, Devon, and Jersey varieties. The Sociedad Ganadera de Junín is doing much to raise the standard of cattle culture in that department, and is establishing dairies for the manufacture of butter, cheese, and other products, which are now largely imported from Europe. On some of the sheep farms the ewe’s milk is used in making a very fine quality of cheese, and it is believed that this industry may be so developed as to compete with the famous Roquefort cheese.

Nearly all the native live stock of Peru is of Spanish origin, the first horses, cattle, and sheep having been imported at the time of the Conquest. The llama, alpaca, and vicuña are, of course, of Andean origin. The Peruvian horses are descendants of the Arab stock, the best specimens being reared on the coast, though there is ample opportunity for increasing both the quality and the number of good horses in the inter-Andean region, and, especially, on the higher slopes of the Montaña. The government is devoting considerable attention to the improvement of the live stock of the country, the National Society of Agriculture stimulating endeavor in this direction by competitive exhibitions.

The live stock farms show the effects of progressive enterprise. The Atocsaico hacienda, covering eighteen square leagues on the plateau of Junín, has fourteen leagues enclosed in wire fences, and is provided with many modern conveniences. The administration house is a commodious dwelling built of wood and lined with zinc, besides which there are outhouses, storerooms, and stables, and a small hydraulic press. The hacienda also has corrals and a bathing place for the sheep, built according to the Australian system, a tank of concrete for the water and iron apparatus arranged over an oven for heating water and preparing the bath. Ten Scotch shepherds are employed, and they are well paid, having houses provided for them, with some of their food supplies, besides good monthly wages. The Scotch collie accompanies his master, and, in addition to ten of these dogs, three Scotch greyhounds are kept; all the dogs are provided with comfortable kennels. Another farm of the same region, the Castaneda hacienda, has a fine dairy and a tannery completely equipped for the treatment of all kinds of skins. There is a large field in Peru for the tanning industry, which is still in the infancy of development.

The native sheep of the plateau are of small stature, long-legged, thick-skinned, and have a rough and scanty fleece; but when this puna variety is crossed with the imported merino sheep, the criollo offspring are larger, not so thick-skinned and have abundant wool of a much curlier and finer quality. The shearing takes place annually, the production being from five to eight pounds of wool per head, according to the age of the sheep and the kind of pasture. The most important wool-growing industry is that of the plateaus on which the llama, alpaca and vicuña have their haunts.

The Department of Puno is particularly noted for its alpacas, which have remarkably heavy fleeces of great length. The alpaca is sheared every two years and gives from six to nine pounds of wool, the best quality being that of the fleece taken from the animal when three or four years old. The wool of the llama is much coarser, and that of the vicuña a great deal finer, than the alpaca’s wool. The llama, sometimes called the “camel of the Andes,” is chiefly valued as a beast of burden, while neither the alpaca nor the vicuña is employed in this way. The alpaca, a smaller animal than the llama, and more stockily built, is usually brown or black in color, has shorter legs and carries itself with less stately dignity than the prouder llama, which seldom curves its long neck, holding its head high and turning it from side to side with a leisurely movement, as it strides along with slow, measured tread. The llama, alpaca, and vicuña are best understood and most easily managed by native Indian shepherds, who seldom have any trouble in leading them wherever they will. The Indian never treats his pastoral charge with cruelty, and his methods are distinguished by that nonchalance and abundant leisure which seem to be his most marked characteristics. The vicuña produces less wool than either the llama or the alpaca, but its fleece is of a much finer quality, which brings better prices in the European market. Peru exports annually about four million pounds of wool.

The culture of vicuña wool deserves especial attention as it is one of the most lucrative industries of the country, and, with intelligent and persevering devotion to its interests, may be developed far beyond its present condition. The existence of the vicuña in Peru dates back to pre-Columbian times, when it was a favorite offering of the Incas in sacrifice to the God of the Sun at the great feast of Raymi. The Spaniards gave it the name of “carneiro de tierra,” or land sheep; and naturalists who travelled in Peru during the time of the viceroyalty classified it as belonging to the camel family.

The vicuña stands from three to four feet in height and has a long slender neck on which is set a small, rather delicately-shaped head with narrow pointed ears that stand upright; the body is about three or four feet in length, and the legs are long and very slender, the hind legs being longer than those in front, which is an advantage to the animal in its mountain climbing. The fleece is a delicate light tan color, darker on the back than elsewhere, the coat showing light under the body and on the inside of the legs, where it is almost white. The vicuña has no horns and its chief defense is the same as that of the llama, which shows displeasure by spitting at the offending object. Almost as soon as born, at least within a few hours after making its entrance into the world, this remarkable little animal is ready to follow its mother on a long and tiring run, and by the second day it will show wonderful strength and velocity in keeping up with the older one, especially if they are fleeing from pursuers.

Only in a very limited region of the Andes is the vicuña to be found, chiefly in Peru and Bolivia, where it seeks the highest parts of the sierra at an altitude of from ten thousand to fifteen thousand feet above sea level, in a region where the temperature is below freezing point. An interesting description of the vicuña’s habits is given by a Peruvian writer, Señor G. Gutierrez Madueno, who has made a careful study of this animal. He says that as soon as a family of young vicuñas are full grown,—that is, when ten months or a year old,—the females make such an onslaught on their brothers, kicking and biting them, that the latter are forced to leave the maternal shelter and go elsewhere, either to form their own ménage in an Adam’s paradise, or to seek mates in other homes and establish new relations. In any case, not more than one male is permitted in a herd, which used to number as many as fifty females, though few are now seen to have more than twenty. The chosen male always leads the herd, keeping a certain distance ahead so as to warn them of any approaching danger; this he does by making a curious sound, at which his followers retreat to a safe distance, usually up the cliffs, from which they can look down on the intruder and satisfy their curiosity. If a hunter kills the male, the entire herd surrounds the dead body in an effort to resuscitate it, manifesting every sign of grief; if, on the contrary, one of the females is killed, it is left to its fate, while the survivors make all speed to a place of safety.

On the high plains and sierras of Puno the hunting of the alpaca and the vicuña for their wool has been active ever since colonial days, though it is only within recent years that the necessity for protecting this important source of wealth has occupied the attention of the authorities. The government is now thoroughly awakened to the danger threatened by a constant and reckless destruction of these valuable wool-bearing animals, and laws have been adopted looking to their preservation. The city of Puno, founded by the Viceroy the Count of Lemos in the seventeenth century, is the central market and shipping point for the alpaca and vicuña wool of a large territory, and in the museum of the city are to be seen some rare specimens of beautiful textiles woven from these products.

The city of Puno lies on the border of Lake Titicaca, overlooking that picturesque body of water more than twelve thousand five hundred feet above the sea. It is an interesting town, with its great central plaza, its fine old churches, and the handsome stone arch gateway that was built under the viceroyalty. A statue in the plaza honors the memory of a brave patriot who exchanged his judicial robes for the uniform of a soldier and fell fighting for his country in the last war. The hospital and orphanage of San Juan de Dios, founded more than thirty years ago by the Benevolent Society, looks like a haven of comfort, surrounded by pretty flower gardens and directed by sweet-faced Sisters of Charity. The national college of San Carlos represents the city’s advancement in educational matters, its curriculum embracing practical as well as theoretical instruction. Puno has archæological interests also as it lies in the centre of a district in which are found stone monuments of great antiquity. Sallustani is the most famous of these ruins, with a round tower of unknown origin.