454 GEORGE PERKINS MARSH. 



In the second chapter Mr. Marsh goes on to show that the camel 

 belongs to the last-mentioned class of domesticated animals. Nature 

 has adapted this quadruped chiefly to the desert, where he acquires 

 his true significance and value, his remarkable j^owers being the ne- 

 cessary condition and sole means by wliich man has in any degree 

 extended his dominion over the Libyan and the Arabian wildernesses, 

 for example. But as society advances in refinement, the camel gives 

 place to animals better suited to the wants and caprices of hio-her 

 civilization. Even the enclosing of land for agricultural uses, and the 

 superseding of the coarse herbage of spontaneous growth by artificial 

 vegetation, are unfavorable to his full development and physical per- 

 fection. Hence the attempts to introduce the camel into Spain, Italy, 

 and other European countries have met with at best a very indifferent 

 success. 



Mr. Marsh next examines the several species and breeds of the 

 camel, in a series of learned chapters on the general and special anat- 

 omy of this animal, treating in detail of the hump, the head, the 

 foot (adapted as well to the yielding sands as to the rugged rocks), 

 and of the complicated structure of the stomach. Then follows a 

 chapter on the size, color, diseases, temper, and longevity of the 

 animal ; after which the useful products of the camel, and his diet and 

 powers of abstinence, are examined. His training and treatment form 

 the next division of the subject. The author here gives us, upon the 

 best authorities, an astonishing estimate of the great carrying power 

 of the camel, and shows us the proper mode of saddling him for this 

 service. Precise statements follow of the camel's speed and gait. 

 Then, after having relieved the severity of his discussion by quoting 

 from another writer an interesting and instructive passage on the char- 

 acteristic pleasures and pains of travel by camel caravan, and after an 

 allusion to the almost incredibly great number of camels employed 

 in Egypt and other Mussulman countries, Mr. Marsii goes on to 

 discuss tlie "geograpliical range" of the several species. One species 

 is found in perfection in some of the hottest countries on the globe. 

 Another bears with impunity the severities of Northern winters. The 

 geographical range of the camel has been greatly extended even 

 in comparatively recent times, and Mr. Marsh confidently expected 

 that this animal would be naturalized in yet other regions, including 

 New Mexico and California. 



Having thus fully established the great value of the camel as a 

 helper in man's work, the author answers affirmatively the ultimate 

 question whether any large tracts of our territory possess the climate 



