66 THE CAMEL. 



nine feet and a half to the middle of the back, 

 was brought to the camp of Denham.^ 



The most common colors of the camel are 

 mouse, drab, fawn, brown, and black. The Nu- 

 bian is, however, generally white, and the same 

 color not unfrequently occurs in the Bactrian. 

 Brown, according to Burckhardt, is disliked ; the 

 reddish or light gray, which sometimes occurs, is 

 preferred by the Anezeh ladies, while black is the 

 fashionable color with the women of Nedjd. I 

 have seen two or three instances of a very deli- 

 cate and pleasing rose tint, and these appeared 

 to be favorite animals. The color is always, so 

 far as I have observed, nearly uniform, except 

 that the parts least exposed are commonly lighter, 

 and the long hair about the neck and hump a few 

 shades darker, than the rest of the fleece. Spot- 

 ted, striped, or mottled camels, I have never seen. 



Gen. Harlan thinks the cross between the 

 Bactrian and the Arabian more subject to dis- 

 ease than the horse, but observes, that in this 

 respect he has " greatly the advantage of the 

 dromedary of the plains, which frequently die in 

 great numbers, without apparent cause, especially 

 during the rainy season." At this season, par- 

 ticularly, the camels are subject to an epilepsy or 

 other convulsion, which is frequently fatal. Con- 

 finement and uncleanliness expose them to 

 ^ Denham and Clapperton, i. 169. 



