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ANIMAL MANAGEMENT. 



Varieties. 



As a 



transport 



animal. 



THE CAMEL. 



Camels may be divided into two classes : double humped 

 and single humped. The double humped camel, also called the 

 " Bactrian," is found in Turkestan, and throughout Central Asia. This is 

 a long-haired, sturdy, powerful animal, bred in and accustomed to 

 rigorous climates, and capable of marching in snow-covered mountains. 

 This variety has been utilized by the Russians in their central Asian 

 expeditions, but is not found in any of the regions where we have made 

 use of camel transport. 



The single-humped camel, which is alluded to in the following 

 chapter, is found in Arabia, Northern Africa, Egypt, Abyssinia, Somali- 

 land and India. Generally speaking, it is longer legged, lighter built, 

 and shorter coated than the Bactrian, and bred in hotter climates. The 

 two varieties inter-breed, but the cross is said to be useful and hardy 

 only when the sire is Bactrian. Breeding has been specialized to such an 

 extent that the riding camel (Sowari, India ; Hagheen, Egypt) forms 

 a distinct class as compared with the baggage animal, and may be aptly 

 compared to our thoroughbred horse. For the formation of special 

 camel corps such as were employed by Napoleon, and by ourselves at a 

 later date, in Egypt, and by Napier in India, riding camels alone are 

 suitable, but as a rule the camel on service is a baggage animal, and it is 

 to the consideration of him in particular that these notes are devoted. 



As a transport animal the camel can, under suitable conditions, carry 

 250 to 450 lbs. twenty miles daily, and this must be looked upon as the 

 limit of his normal powers when properly cared for. It is well to keep 

 this in mind, for the animal's virtues are such that it is easy to unwittingly 

 overtax him. Patient to a degree, enduring hunger, thirst and pain with 

 a stoical courage beyond all others, the first sign a camel may give that 

 he is being asked to do the impossible is to drop down dead, on which 

 account he has been classed as " delicate." The one point on which a 

 camel may be fairly regarded as delicate is, that he is peculiarly 

 susceptible to changes of climate and surroundings. You cannot, for 

 instance, work a desert camel successfully in the hills, or a delta camel 

 in the desert ; but if properly selected and cared for they make 

 excellent transport, are not more difficult to deal wuth than other animals, 

 and on occasion are capable of a sustained effort which cannot be 

 accomplished by any others. They are, however, unintelligent ; they 

 cannot be taught much, but are willing machines and must be driven with 

 care and judgment. 



