994 THE UNGULATES. OR HOOFED MAMMALS 



and the body is massive and rounded. The contour of the back rises from the 

 setting on of the neck to the loins, and then falls rapidly away to the tail. The hump, 

 when the animal is in good condition, stands upright, but it altars considerably in shape 

 according to age. The richer the food of the camel, the larger is its hump; while, 

 when the food is poor and dry, the hump decreases in size; and, accordingly, in the 

 rainy season this appendage attains maximum development, while in the dry months 

 it proportionately shrinks. In high-conditioned animals, the hump should form a 

 regular pyramid, and occupy at least a quarter of the whole length, but when the 

 animals are half starved it almost disappears. The hair is soft, and on the back 

 part of the head, the neck and throat, the shoulders, the hump, and the upper part 

 of the fore-legs, is longer than elsewhere. The color of the hair is very variable, 

 although a light sandy is the most common hue; there are, however, white, gray, 

 brown, and even totally black camels; but those of the last-named color are held by 

 the Arabs to be worthless. 



There are numerous breeds of camels differing more or less from one 

 an us another, and the Arabs recognize no less than twenty distinct strains. 



Roughly speaking, they may, however, be divided into two classes, 

 namely, baggage camels and riding camels, or dromedaries; and Sir Samuel Baker 

 observes that " there is the same difference between a good hygin, or dromedary, and 

 a baggage camel, as between the thoroughbred and the cart horse; and it appears 

 absurb in the eyes of the Arabs that a man of any position should ride a baggage 

 camel. Apart from all ideas of etiquette, the motion of the latter animal is quite 

 sufficient warning. Of all species of fatigue, the back-breaking monotonous swing 

 of a heavy camel is the worst." The peculiarly unpleasant motion of even the best 

 camels is due to the circumstance that the two legs of one side are moved simultane- 

 ously. The ordinary pace of a baggage camel is from two and one-half to three 

 miles an hour when fully loaded, but a good dromedary will keep up a pace of from 

 eight to ten miles an hour for a long period. 



Arabian camels are now found in the domesticated condition in all 



parts of Africa, lying between the Mediterranean and the twelfth par- 

 allel of north latitude, while in Somaliland they extend as far south as the fifth 

 parallel. They are also widely distributed in southeastern Asia, ranging from the 

 lowlands of Afghanistan and Bokhara, where they impinge on the habitat of the 

 two-humped Bactrian camel, through Northwestern India, Persia, Asia Minor, 

 Syria, and Arabia. In Asia Minor and Khorassan, there is a race of half-breeds be- 

 tween the Arabian and the Bactrian camel, this breed being known in the last-named 

 country as the Boghdi camel. According to Elphinstone, it has the two humps of 

 the Bactrian species, but the long limbs of the Arabian; and it appears to be gener- 

 ally a product of crossing a male of the former with a female of the latter. Arabian 

 camels have also been introduced into the Canaries, Australia, North America, 

 Italy, the south of Spain, and Zanzibar. 



There has been much discussion as to what country was the original home of 

 the Arabian camel; but it has been considered that Arabia has the best title to this 

 honor. This conclusion appears to rest partly on the statements of Diodorus Sicu- 

 lus and Strabo that wild camels existed in Arabia at the commencement of the 



