CAMLJ.. 



several consecutive days witliout tlie possihility of ol)tainin!^ li(|iii(l iiourislinieiit, 

 tliere is an internal structure which permits the animal to store up a considerable 

 amount of water for future use. For this purpose, certain honeycomb shaped cells 

 in the stomach are larijely develo[)eil, and are enabled to receive and to retain th j 

 water which is received into the stomach atter the natural thii'st of the animal has 

 been supplied. After a Camel has been accustomed to journeying? across the hot 

 and arid sand wastes, it learns wisdom by experiince, and contrives to lay by a 

 much greater sui)ply of water than would be accumulated by a young and untrie.l 

 animal. It is suj)posed that the Camel is, in some way, able to dilate the 

 honeycomb cells, and to force them- to receive a large quantity of the priceles.^ 

 licpiid. 



A large and experienced Camel will receive five or six rjuails of water into its 

 sto!nach, and is enabled to exist for as many days without needing to drink 

 Aided by this internal supply of wate^*, the Camel can satiate its hungi'r by brow- 

 sing on the hard and withered thorns that are found scattered thinly through the 

 deserts, and sutfei-s no injur}' to its j)alate from their iron-like speais, that would 

 direfully wound the mouth of any less sensitive creature. The Camel has even 

 been known to eat pieces of dry wood, and to derive apparent satisfaction from its 

 strange meal. 



The feet of the Camel are well adapted for walking upon the loose, diy sand, 

 than which substance is no more uncertain f(M)tini?. The toes are very broad, and 

 are furnished with soft, wide cushions, that ])resent a considerable surface to the 

 loose soil, and enable the animal to retain a firm hold upon the shifting sands. As 

 the Camel is constantly forced to kneel in order to be loaded or lelieved of its 

 burden, it is furnished upon the knees and breast with thick callous pads, wiiieh 

 su|)port its weight without injuring the skin. Thus fitted i)y nature for its strange- 

 lilc, the Camel faces the desert sands with l)ol(lness, and travei-ses the arid region:* 

 with an ease and quiet celerity that has gained for the creature the title ot the 

 Shij) of the Desert. 



The " hump" of the Camel is a very curious part of its stnicturc, ami is of grcjit 

 importance in the eyes of the Arabs, who judge of the condition of their beasts by 

 the si/e, shape, and firnmess of the hump. 'J'hey say, and truly, that the Camel 

 feeds upon his luniij), for in proportion as the aninud travei"ses the sandy wastes 

 of its desert lands, and suffei-s from ])rivation and fatigue, the hump diminishes. 

 At the end of a long Jiid ])aiid'ul jouiiicy, the hump will often nearly vanish, and 

 it cannot be restored to its pristine form until the animal has undi-rgone a long 

 course of good feeding. AN' lien an Arab is about to set forth on a desert jouniey, 

 he ])ays great at*jntion t<^ the humps of his Camels, and watches them witli 

 ical»)us care. 



2:rt 



