3-011-406 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Il Gombo, near Pisa, the Acclimatisation Farm of His Majesty Victor Emmanuel, 1864. Engraving from a sketch by M. Mariani. 'Il Gombo...occupies an extensive space on the Tuscan shore of the Mediterranean...in the verdant Pisan meadows more than two thousand wild cows feed at liberty; they afford but little milk, and are kept...for the production of calves and as a source of veal supply for the population of Pisa. A vast number of horses are also bred at the "cascina"; last year they exceeded fifteen hundred. But the greatest curiosity of this important farm is the herd of upwards of two hundred camels. About thirty of these animals are employed in the labours of the farm...but the remainder wander in perfect freedom in the midst of the pine forests...Although comparatively in its infancy, the farm is already rich in the possession of useful animals, many of the best specimens having been offered to his Majesty by the acclimatisation societies of England and France. The climate of the Pisan district is very favourable to the health and propagation of the animals imported, and the mildness of its winter and the ordinary tranquillity of the atmosphere are advantages which other establishments in Europe of a similar nature do not possess'. From "Illustrated London News", 1864.