98 



Ercarfurp of Natural fgu 



Gould, in his very magnificent "Birds of 

 Australia," has figured all the species of 

 this genus ; and from his account of the 

 species called Wy-la (from its whining call 

 note) by the natives of N. S. Wales, and 

 Calyptarhynchus fuiierctis by naturalists, we 

 extract the following observation : it is 

 usually met with in small companies of from 

 four to eight in number, except during the 

 breeding season, when it is only seen in 

 pairs. Its food is much varied ; sometimes 

 the great belts of Bartksia shrubs are visited, 

 and the seed-covers torn open for the sake 

 of their contents, while at others it searches 

 greedily for tluD larvae which are deposited 

 in the wattles and gum trees {Encalyptus}. 

 Its flight is very heavy, flapping, and la- 

 boured ; but Mr. Gould informs us that he 

 has sometimes seen it dive between the trees 

 in a most rapid and extraordinary manner. 

 The eggs are white, two in number, and 

 deposited on the rotten wood in the hollow 

 branch of a large gum tree. 



CAMBERWELL BEAUTY [BUTTER- 

 FLY.] A name given to a spetiies of But- 

 terfly, of the genus VANESSA [which see]. 



CAMEL. (Camelus.) A genus of mam- 

 miferous ruminating quadrupeds without 

 horns, further distinguished by the possession 

 of incisive, canine, and molar teeth : the up- 



OAMII,. (CAM-EL08 BAOTRIANOS') 



per lip is divided; the neck long and arched; 

 having one, or two, humps or protuberances 

 upon the back, and naked callosities at the 

 joints of the leg, the lower part of the breast, 

 &c. They have a broad, expanded, elastic 

 foot, terminated in front by two compara- 

 tively small hoofs, or toes; the whole struc- 

 ture of it being admirably fitted for enabling 

 the animal to travel with peculiar ease and 

 security over dry, stony, and sandy regions. 

 The native country of this genus is said to 

 extend from Mauritania to China, within a 

 zone of 1000 miles in breadth. 



The common Camel (Camelus Bactria- 

 n?ts), having two humps, is only found in 

 the northern part of this region, and ex- 

 clusively from the ancient Baetria, now 

 Turkestan, to China. It is larger than the 

 Dromedary ; the limbs are not so long in 

 proportion to the body ; the muzzle is larger 

 and more tumid ; the hair of a darker brown, 

 and the usual gait slower: but the most ob- 

 vious distinction is afforded by the Bactrian 

 Camel having two humps, and the Drome- 



dary or Arabian Camel having but one, 

 which single hump occupies the middle of 

 the back, rising gradually on all sides to- 

 wards its apex. 



The Arabian, or single-hump Camel (Ca- 

 melus (iromedarius) is found throughout the 

 entire length of this zone, on its southern side, 



DROMEDARY {ciMEI,OS DROMED ARIOS .) 



as far as Africa and India. The general height 

 of the Arabian Camel, measured from the top 

 of the dorsal hump to the ground, is about 

 six feet and a half, but from the top of the 

 head when the animal elevates it, not much 

 less than nine feet: the head, however, is 

 generally so carried as to be nearly on a 

 level with the hump, or rather below it, the 

 Camel bending the neck extremely in its 

 general posture. In some particular atti- 

 tudes, perhaps, the Camel may be said to 

 have an elegant and picturesque appearance, 

 yet its general aspect, and more especially 

 its dorsal hump, at first sight, is apt to im- 

 press on the mind the idea of deformity, 

 rather than a truly natural conformation. 



It is highly probable that the Camel has 

 long ceased to exist in its wild or natural 

 state, as it has been enslaved by man 

 from the earliest times of which we have 

 record. Unlike the elephant, and other 

 animals which cease to breed in a state of 

 captivity, the Camel is as prolific as if at 

 liberty; and vast numbers are raised and 

 employed throughout the East, especially 

 in the commerce carried on between the 

 people residing in the vicinity of the great 

 deserts. In regions where water is scarce, 

 and wells or springs are several days' journey 

 distant from each other, it would be im- 

 possible to traverse the country with the 

 usual beasts of burthen. But the Camel 

 can abstain from drinking for seven or eight 

 days together without injury an important 

 advantage, which is owing to the possession 

 of an additional cavity in the stomach, 

 destined to receive water, whenever it can 

 be procured, and capable of retaining it un- 

 changed for a long time. " But," as the 

 writer of the zoological articles in Brande's 

 Dictionary observes, " besides a reservoir of 

 water to meet the exigencies of long journeys 

 across the desert, the Dromedary and Camel 

 are provided with a storehouse of solid nu- 

 triment, on which they can draw for supplies 

 long after every digestible part has been 

 extracted from the contents of the stomach : 

 this storehouse consists of one or two large 

 collections of fat stored up in ligamentous 



