Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 88.djvu/884

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��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.

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� ��A traveler quenching his thirst from a barrel cactus

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