124 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS 



which have been long on the earth are apt to become in a 

 way rigid as regards their quaHties of body and mind. It is 

 an interesting fact that, although the camel can readily be 

 transplanted to many other parts of the world, where the 

 physiographic conditions are similar to those of the realm 

 where he has served man so well, he has never been thor- 

 oughly successful except in the regions where he has been 

 in use for ages. In the desert regions of the Cordilleras of 

 America, in South Africa, and in Australia, various experi- 

 ments go to show that the creature could be perfectly recon- 

 ciled to its environm.ent. Many years ago a lot of camels 

 were brought to the valley of the Rio Grande with a view to 

 their utilization in that region, which closely resembles the 

 desert countries about the Mediterranean. These animals were 

 thoroughly successful in meeting the climatal conditions of 

 the region. They proved as strong and as fertile as in their 

 natural realms. Although it is said they survive to the present 

 day, they have never been of any service to the people. 



Although, as before noted, the camel has a certain value 

 for other purposes than conveying burdens, these subsidiary 

 uses are so far limited that the creature is not likely to retain 

 a place in the world after his service in caravans is no longer 

 called for. The rapid recivilization of northern Africa, lead- 

 ing as it does to the development of a railway system in that 

 region, promises to displace this creature from his most trod- 

 den ways. It seems likely that the other portions of the 

 desert lands in the old world will soon be brought under the 

 same civilizing influences, the nomadic tribes reduced to a 

 stationary habit of life, and the commerce effected in the 

 modern manner. When this change is brought about, this 

 old-time animal, which but for the care of man would have 



