SPECIES AND BREEDS 99 



certain special breeds of camels in the days of Cyrus or 

 Xerxes, or most probably long prior to this, on account 

 of their swiftness. I have also seen it stated that ' drome- 

 dary ' was a name often applied to all the members of 

 single-humped species, but properly speaking belonging 

 only to a thin, comparatively elegant, and fine-haired 

 breed, celebrated for its neetness, and carrying its rider 

 when necessary a hundred miles a day. Long ages 

 ago, before the Arabian camel had spread east into 

 Asia and south into Africa, it may have been the case 

 that the name ' dromedary ' was confined exclusively 

 to one breed, but now there are as many various breeds 

 of riding as of baggage camels. The later part of this 

 statement is quite correct, however, and applies pretty 

 generally to dromedaries, no matter what their breed, 

 and they are distinguishable from the beast of burden 

 by their slightness and wiriness, and by their muzzles 

 being less swollen greyhounds in comparison with 

 mastiffs being an apt illustration. Their speed we will 

 discuss in chapter ix. 



This is an ancient heresy, and the proper meaning 

 of the term does not appear to have been understood. 

 Even Aristotle seems to have laboured under a wrong 

 impression. Gibbon, in chapter xlvi. of his c Decline 

 and Fall,' refers to it : ' The difference between the 

 two races consists in one or two humps ; the drome- 

 dary has only one ; the size of the proper camel is 

 larger ; the country he comes from Turkestan or 

 Bactriana ; the dromedary is confined to Arabia and 

 Africa.' 1 Had he substituted ' Arabian ' for dromedary 



1 Buffon, Hist. Natur. xii. 211 ; see also Aristotle, Historia Anima- 

 Hum, lib. ii. cap. 2. 



H 2 



