00 THE CAMEL. 



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

 was brought to the camp of Denham. 1 



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 

 1 Denham and Clapperton, i. 169. 



