TOO 



THE CAMELS. 



AMONG the Camelidse or Camels, we include the 

 South American animals, which, forming a distinct 

 group, take the place of the Camel of the ancients in 

 the New World, and in many instances are employed 

 for somewhat similar purposes. They are charac- 

 terized by an unwieldy form, placed high above the 

 ground, a long and rather slender neck. The upper 

 lip swollen and cleft in the centre, possessing a 

 power of motion, and used to feel or examine the 

 shrubby food before it is conveyed to the mouth. 

 They have canine teeth in both jaws, and on each 

 side two additional pointed teeth implanted in the 

 incisive bones. The lower incisor teeth are six in 

 number, the grinders either eighteen or twenty ; the 

 cuboide and scaphoid bones of the tarsus are sepa- 

 rate, and they have the three bones of the second 

 range of the carpus, which distinguish them from 

 all the other ruminants, and exhibits one link of con- 

 nexion between this order and the Pachydennata. 

 There is one small hoof which is fixed to the last 

 phalanx, as in the feet of the Pachydermata, and the 

 toes alone are free, being connected beneath by a 

 horny sole. The stomach is furnished with cells ca- 

 pable of retaining or producing motion. The uvula 



