INTRODUCTION 7 



than the milk of any other animal by the Panjabis, 

 Afghans, Persians, and Arabs, who feed their colts on 

 it. Aristotle mentions camel's milk as being very 

 strong, but good when mixed with two or three parts 

 of water. It is said that butter cannot be made from 

 the milk, and that the Arabs use its grease as a substi- 

 tute; but I have seen this contradicted, and a state- 

 ment to the effect that both butter and cheese can be 

 made from it. The flesh of the camel is eaten, being 

 forbidden to the Jews only ; and that of the young is 

 considered delicate, and said to be like veal, the hump 

 being also called a delicacy ; and in Sennar the differ- 

 ent tribes, who are chiefly Mahometans, often eat the 

 entrails. The skin is tanned, and turned into harness 

 and shoes. Clothing and tents, which are waterproof, 

 are made from the hair ; while in Europe brushes for 

 painters and toothbrushes are manufactured out of 

 it ; also camlet, formerly woven of silk and camel's 

 hair, but now with a mixture of wool as well. It is 

 also mixed with cotton, forming the warp, and the 

 cotton the woof, of the famous Persian camel hair- 

 cloth; and a coarse kind of hair is imported for 

 various uses. Aristotle tells us that the genitals are 

 of such a nature as to be useful for bowstrings. The 

 dung is used as fuel in Arabia, Persia, Egypt, and 

 India, and, in fact, in all countries where the camel is 

 employed as a beast of burden ; and sal-ammoniac is 

 extracted from the soot of burnt dung, as well as from 

 the urine, and used for purposes of commerce at least I 

 believe so ; at all events, it is strongly impregnated with it. 



Aristotle, in his ' Natural History of Animals ' and Classical 

 of c Parts of Animals,' alludes frequently all throughout 



