142 THE CAMEL 



same time starve him, or if you deprive him ol one or 

 other, it stands to reason that in the first instance he 

 cannot chew the cud at all, and in either of the other 

 cases he cannot chew it properly, for he cannot live for 

 any length of time on food alone, and in the long run 

 he must have water, with dry food especially, as the 

 juices and secretions are not sufficient in themselves to 

 keep the animal in health and strength. It must be 

 remembered, however, that there are camels and 

 camels, and that their powers of abstinence depend not 

 entirely and exclusively on Nature's bounty, as has 

 hitherto been the popular prevailing idea, but in a very 

 Power of great measure upon their breeding, and upon the 



abstinence n _. _ _ , 



dependent country and climate they have been brought up in. 



i'ng r< Bisharin, Kabbabish, or Ababdeh camels, for example, 

 that have been born and bred in their native deserts 

 great sandy waterless wastes require less water and 

 can endure without it for a longer period than camels 

 of Lower Egypt or the Panjab, who under dissimilar 

 conditions are accustomed to greener food and more 

 water, consequently are much softer and less enduring. 



virtues of Apart from this, however, there is more virtue in 

 water than at first sight we would imagine. In the 

 first place, it is a kind of food, and men and animals 

 will exist on it alone for several days. 



2. It is par excellence Nature's tonic, and as such it 

 is absolutely a necessity to keep the body, and there- 

 fore the instinctive and reasoning faculties of animals, 

 in a healthy, vigorous state, which would quickly 

 become impaired without it. 



3. Taken in reasonable quantities, inwardly and out- 

 wardly, it keeps the skin in an active and sanitary state. 



