160 THE CAMEL 



distilled, ' stunted acacias,' and c dragon trees ' ; the 

 6 nebbuk bushes ' are, I believe, also eaten, also the 

 leaves of the ' date ' and ' dom palm,' and it is said that 

 the camel will eat ' nettle,' ' thistle,' c cassia,' ' worm- 

 wood,' and any kind of harsh prickly or dry hard 

 vegetable. In the Sahara the following are the plants 

 upon which he grazes viz. ' getaf ' bushes, which have 

 a saltish taste and are much liked ; c rtem ' a legu- 

 men, a great favourite ; ' diel,' a bush which when it 

 reaches the height of 1^ foot ceases to be eaten by 

 camels, and is very common ; ' sooid ' a bush ; ' drin,' 

 c alfa,' and c boogriba ' are all three grasses, the former 

 growing on a sandy ground, the latter, which is very 

 succulent, on a salt-impregnated soil. In India, 

 4 babul,' ' neem,' ' pipal,' ' phulai,' c kikar,' ' goolur,' 

 'jhand,' 'burgut,' 'behr,' < goolali,' c hees,' < kurrul,' 

 'jaree,' 'jawassa,' 'lana,' 'kair,' 'karonda,' 'katila,' are 

 the principal trees and shrubs which are commonly 

 eaten, the leaves of the first three mentioned being 

 considered the best. 'Mote,' 'khawid' when young, 

 ' kassil,' ' sarson,' and ' tarameera ' when in seed, are 

 green crops which when in season the natives esteem 

 most highly. The Bactrian species, in the intensely cold 

 northern regions of Central Asia, are said to subsist on 

 the leaves and twigs of ' willow ' and c birch,' and in 

 winter merely on the dry leafless twigs which they can 

 pick up. 



When speaking of rations I omitted to state that, in 

 feeding, always be most careful to see that the grain 

 and straw are placed on a feeding-cloth, which ought 

 to be supplied at the rate of one to every two camels. 

 If this has been lost, make the driver use a sack, or a 



