EFFECT OF CLIMATE 



177 



CAMEL. 



Temperature and moisture also affect animals as well 

 as plants, although animals can hide away from the scorch- 

 ing sun and move about for water as plants cannot. An 

 animal like the polar 

 bear, whose coat has be- 

 come thick to protect 

 him from great cold, 

 would soon pine away 

 and die, if transferred to 

 the jungles of Africa, 

 where his fellow flesh- 

 eater, the lion, revels in 

 joyful existence. To 

 the camel of the desert 

 the damp, grassy savan- 

 nas would be, indeed, a dreary waste and verdant cemetery. 

 Thus, when once plants and animals have become adapted 

 to certain climatic conditions, they cannot flourish if placed 

 under very different conditions. 



89. Effect of Climate upon Man. Since man can change 

 his outer covering of clothes whenever he desires and is able 

 to carry with him and store for long periods his necessary 

 food, and by artificial means raise or even lower the tem- 

 perature of the space in which he lives, he is not nearly so 

 dependent upon climate as are either plants or animals. 



The same man can, for a time, live in arctic regions or 

 in the tropics. Men can, moreover, by centuries of effort 

 become accustomed to the climate of almost any part of 

 the globe. The Laplander and the South Sea Islander 

 both flourish in their adopted homes. Neither of these, 

 however, has attained to the highest development of 

 which man is capable. The rigorous severity of the cli- 

 mate saps the energies of one and its uniform geniality 

 lulls the ambition of the other. 



