24 THE CAMEL 



the elasticity not only being a safeguard from lameness/ 

 but giving ease to his movements. The feet are, in 

 fact, specially formed to travel over sand, and the sole 

 or lower part not being cloven but united is another 

 clear indication that Nature adapted the camel for the 

 desert, for this prevents his sinking in loose, shifty sand. 

 This pad is also more adaptable for the burning sand 

 than a foot like the horse or ox, made of hard, horny 

 substance which is liable to become brittle and develop 

 sand-cracks ; on the other hand, excessive moisture 

 causes swelling and inflammation both to the feet and 

 legs, so that a dry climate and soil is more or less 

 indispensable for the camel. Dallas says : ' The structure 

 of the foot is very peculiar, the whole of the phalanges 

 being turned forward in such a manner as to form an 

 elongated foot, the lower surface of which is applied 

 to the ground. These two toes are merely enclosed in 

 skin, and the hoofs, which are of a very small size, 

 appear more like nails than anything else. The hinder 

 toes which usually occur in the ruminants are entirely 

 wanting/ 



Hump This extraordinary feature tends to heighten the 



distorted appearance of the camel, but in reality there 

 is no distortion of the spine or prolongation of the 

 spinous processes. It consists principally of fat. 

 Arabs and Asiatics say that it is a provision of Nature 

 for endurance of long abstinence, and, speaking literally y 

 they say that the camel feeds on its own hump. In 

 other words, they mean that when he is obliged to go- 

 without food and water, and is thrown completely on 

 his own resources, he draws gradually on this natural 

 store of adipose matter, and is thus enabled to carry on 



