CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



the upper jaw, and canines in both jaws, the 

 dental formula being : 



I. !=!, C. 1=1, P. 2=3, M. 3n3 36. 

 33 i i 33 3-3 



Their head is destitute of horns. 



In the true Camels, which are peculiar to Asia 

 and Africa, the two toes are united below by a 

 kind of horny sole, almost to their points, which 

 terminate in small hoofs ; and there is a soft 

 cushion beneath the foot, by which it bears upon 

 the sandy surface over which it is formed to 

 move. Two species are known one called the 

 Bactrian (Canulus Bactrianus), or Two-humped 



Camel (Camelus Bactrianus). 



Camel, and the other the Arabian (C. dromedarius), 

 or One-humped. Both are completely domesti- 

 cated, and their utility as beasts of burden is 

 universally known. The Two-humped Camel is 

 the larger and stronger, being capable of sustain- 

 ing a burden of above 1000 pounds, and is best 

 adapted for rugged ground. The other is the 

 most abstemious, and the best fitted for the sandy 

 desert. The Dromedary is merely a lighter variety 

 of it, possessed of greater fleetness and power 01 

 endurance. The flesh and milk of the came' 

 serve as food, and the hair for the manufacture oi 

 cloth. Their humps, principally composed of fat 

 are provisions of superabundant nutriment, as 

 they are noticed to diminish much in size on long 

 journeys. By resting on their callosities, camel 

 are enabled to repose on a scorching surface, anc 

 their stomachs are adapted to contain a supply 

 of water sufficient for several days. 



The place of the camels is taken in the New 

 World by the Llama and Alpaca (Auchenia) 

 They have no hump, nor is the sole of the foo 

 provided with a pad. They are smaller than the 

 camels, and are used as beasts of burden. 



(B.) The Moschidce, which includes the Musk 

 Deer (Moschus moschiferus), are characterised b> 

 the absence of horns, and by the presence o 

 canine teeth in both jaws, these teeth assuming 

 in the upper jaw of the male, the form of tusks 

 The male has a glandular sac in the abdomen 

 which secretes the well-known perfume musk 

 hence the name. They are elegant and nimbi 

 little animals, confined to the mountainous part 

 of Central Asia. 



(C.) The family Cemrida includes the numerou 

 tribe of the true Deer. They are distinguished by 

 the character of their horns, or, as they are called 

 in this tribe, antlers, which are composed of 

 solid bone, and are at first mere prominences 



182 



in the frontal bones, covered with a hairy skin 

 the -velvet), having at their base a ring of bony 

 ubercles, which periodically enlarge and compress 

 he nutrient vessels, so that the antlers are shed 

 annually, to be reproduced in a larger and more 

 wanched form each year at the breeding season. 

 With the exception of the female reindeer, all the 

 emales are destitute of horns. All the deer tribe 

 lave a sebaceous gland placed beneath the eye,, 

 vhich secretes a strongly smelling waxy substance. 

 Of the species with round antlers, which are very 

 numerous, only the Roebuck (Capreolus caprcea), 

 and the Stag, or Red-deer (Cervus elephas), are 

 natives of Britain. The Wapiti, or Canadian Stag 

 C. Canadensis\ is a larger species, found in North 

 America. 



In the following genera, the antlers are more or 

 ess flattened and palmated : of these, the Elk or 

 Morse Deer (Alces paltnatus), which is one of the 

 argest existing species, has the antlers large and 

 very broad, with tooth-like projections on the outer 

 dge. The Elk is found in the northern parts of 

 Europe, Asia, and America. The Reindeer (Cervus 

 tarandus], which is so useful to the Laplanders, 



Reindeer ( Cervus tarandus). 



is the only species properly domesticated. The 

 reindeer-moss (Cadonia rangiferind) forms the 

 chief part of its winter food. It is now confined 

 to the extreme north of Europe, but during the 

 glacial period it ranged as far south as France. 

 The Fallow-deer (Dama platyceros), now natur- 

 alised in this countiy, also belongs to this group. 

 The remains of a gigantic species of deer, closely 

 allied to the former, are frequently found in recent 

 deposits, more especially the peat-bogs in Ireland, 

 where it is called the Irish Elk (Megacros Hiber- 

 nicus). Some of the antlers which have been 

 discovered measured thirteen feet between the 

 tips. 



(D.) The Camelopardalidce includes only a 

 single living species, the Giraffe or Camelopard 

 (C. giraffa). It derives its name from the skin 

 being spotted like a leopard, and its neck long 

 like that of a camel. It differs from the deer in 

 the permanence of its horns, which are covered 

 by hairy skin. The length of its fore-limbs and 

 neck (which contains no more than the normal 

 seven cervical vertebras) are well known. It 

 measures about eighteen feet in height, and feeds 

 on leaves, which it strips off branches at a con- 

 siderable height above the ground by its long 

 prehensile tongue. It is gentle and inoffensive, 



