FEEDING 151 



is entirely foreign to them, unless driven to it by 

 hunger, when, like most quadrupeds, and bipeds for the 

 matter of that, they will eat anything ; but if given their 

 choice they prefer, as a matter of course, food which 

 is natural to them. A camel of any breed is on the 

 whole a delicate feeder, and not easily pleased ; a view, 

 I see, which Lieutenant Massoutier also takes of the 

 Algerian specimen. 



We have already come to the decision that the 

 camel is a very stupid animal, and requires to be taken 

 to suitable grazing grounds, as not only is he unable to 

 find them out for himself, but he is apt to be indiscreet, 

 either by eating poisonous herbs, or by overeating 

 himself when he gets into rich pastures. Unlike a 

 horse he cannot control his appetite, and I have seen 

 scores of them die in Afghanistan when they got into 

 the large fields of beautiful clover that we marched 

 through, from Candahar to Cabul, under Sir Donald 

 Stewart, in 1880. It is, therefore, most expedient to 

 watch them when grazing. Sir Samuel Baker, speaking 

 of the camel, says that ' it is fond of luxurious living, 

 and when it arrives in good pasture will eat to repletion ; 

 but when other animals starve it thrives on the ends of 

 barren leafless twigs, the dried sticks of certain shrubs, 

 and the tough dry paper-like substance of the dom 

 palm, about as succulent as would be a green umbrella 

 and a " Times." ' The latter part of this statement I 

 cannot altogether hold with. The camel will eat but 

 he will not thrive on such food when he is doing hard 

 and continuous work. Then, if the grazing is of this 

 nature, you must supplement it with a ration of grain 

 and chopped straw, hay, or other forage which is 



