374 



HOOFED ANIMALS 



The legs of the Camel are long and slender, notwith- 

 standing which their looseness gives them a flabby and 

 rather straggling appearance. Reference has already been 

 made to the cushioned feet of the animal, which specially 

 adapt it for traversing sandy deserts. It is often stated that 

 the Camel is quite unfitted for walking on hilly or stony 

 ground ; but the Camels of Sinai can pick their way with 

 remarkable celerity amongst boulders and in rocky places 

 that would often puzzle a mountain pony. 



On wet and slippery roads the Camel is simply helpless, 

 and is very apt to dislocate its hind legs. They slide 

 asunder on a treacherous surface, and the animal is unable 

 to bring them back ; and the result is that the weight of the 



body, to say nothing of 



am. 



a burden, forces the 

 bones out of their 

 sockets, and nothing 

 can be done with the 

 unfortunate creature 

 but destroy it. 



The qualities which 

 make the Camel in- 

 valuable in desert 

 regions are its powers 

 as a pack animal and 

 of subsisting with little 

 food and absolutely no 



drink for comparatively long periods. It can dispense 

 with water without discomfort for several days, but in 

 face of dire necessity it can exist as long as ten days, 

 travelling during the whole of that period and carrying a 

 fairly heavy load. It sometimes happens that when the 

 water contained in the skin bags of the travellers is ex- 

 hausted, a Camel is sacrificed for the sake of the liquid 

 which remains unconsumed in the stomach. 



Often the Camel saves the caravan from destruction by 

 the exercise of its faculty of scenting water at a great 

 distance, bending its course directly towards it, and even 

 going to the length of breaking its halter if the driver fail to 

 understand the animal's instinctive knowledge. 



WATER CELLS OF THE STOMACH OF THE 

 CAMEL. 



