FEEDING 161 



cloth or blanket of his own, and never, if you can help 

 it, place the ration on the ground. In the first place 

 you save a lot of the ration, a fourth or fifth perhaps, and 

 eventually, possibly, the animal's life. By placing it on 

 the ground they pick up sand and gravel, which after 

 a time, hard work and exposure aiding it, produce 

 sand colic and frequently death. At post-mortems held 

 on them I have seen pounds of dirt and gravel taken 

 out of their intestines. 



Y.-S. Steel is of opinion that the camel should be System of 

 treated similarly to the horse, and fed frequently, and 

 that he will thrive in like manner as that animal. As 

 regards a horse, I believe most implicitly in this mode 

 of treatment, but not so much a camel, though he 

 certainly ought to have at least two feeds a day if he 

 has been placed on a scale of rations. What I do 

 believe in altogether is ample grazing, and ample time 

 to allow them to chew the cud. 



One of the great advantages of grazing is that they Advan- 

 obtain natural food, which is infinitely healthier and g ring 

 more suitable for them, besides the freedom from 

 constraint and control which all animals, even the 

 down-trodden camel, love. When, being free of all 

 impedimenta, and out of the reach of brutality and 

 cruelty, they can wander at will more or less, pick and 

 choose where and when they like, stand here or kneel 

 down there and ruminate ; lie down, rest and chew the 

 cud, maybe of morbid fancies, but more probably of 

 some choice pickings that they have stumbled across ; 

 stretch themselves, and enjoy a good roll in some soft 

 sandy spot ; rub up against a rough prickly tree, a 

 hard rugged boulder, or against one another, indulging 



M 



