210 BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 



by sea. It is reasonably surmised tbat the camel is decreasing in 

 numbers; one of the Caliphs, for example, is credited with assem- 

 bling 120,000 camels for a journey to Mecca. Here we are face to 

 face with one of those difficulties constantly appearing before 

 naturalists. Some allowance must be made for oriental exaggeration 

 in the actual statement of numbers, and for unintentional multiplication 

 in quality and quantity by laudatoris temporis acti, people who 

 systematically run down the pi-esent in comparison with the past. 

 The two-humped or Bactrian camel is much less frequent than the 

 true dromedary or one-humped species. Palgrave, the celebrated 

 traveller, is responsible for introducing serious confusion between 

 the terms dromedary and camel. He has tried to restrict the former 

 to the hygeen or running camel, known to us as sowari, and to make 

 it out to be a distinct breed. This is not correct. The fact of the 

 case is, that wheresoever camels are freely used and bred there are 

 found well-bred light animals suited for sowari, and heavier, 

 coarser bred individuals suited for baggage duties. According to 

 the requirements of the locality the former or the latter predominate. 

 There are very many local varieties of the camel, but only two species 

 (a) the Southern, Arabian, one-humped camel, or true dromedary, 

 and (b) the Northern, Bactrian, two-humped, or " true" camel. 

 Where the two meet is the line of the Euphrates and Tigris; a few 

 Bactrians have passed into Arabia, and I believe the two-humped 

 camel is the one which has been imported into North America by the 

 United States Government. In Northern Persia and Afghan- 

 Turkestan the two species are found, and sometimes they cross and 

 produce a hybrid. It is the one-humped camel which has invaded 

 Australia, that of Bikanir in Rajputana, which shares with Jessalmir 

 the honour of being the best places in India for camels. The 

 Bactrian camel is very tolerant of cold, he works across snow on 

 the Steppes, and is said to eat snow when he becomes thirsty; the 

 dromedaiy is intolerant of cold, but will stand a remarkable amount 

 of heat. Moisture in the air is probably the condition of climate of 

 which the camel is least tolerant. No animal will travel better 

 over sand, for which the peculiar structure of the foot, the deliberate 

 action and the length of limb well suit him • mountainous passes are 

 trying only to plain camels; even deep rivers with sandy bottoms can 

 be forded by this animal, but a clay bottom and slippery soil proves 

 very trying to him, especially under a heavy load, and deep ditches 

 or cracks in the soil prove serious impedimenta, because camels 



