206 THE CAMEL 



as incorrect as they could be, I am disinclined to 

 believe the latter part of his statement. Even in the 

 hands of those who know him, for long journeys and 

 continuous hard work, no camel in the world will 

 carry over 600 Ib. With the stamp of animal that 

 we invariably have in our little wars, 300 to 350 Ib. 

 should be the limit. Good camels, well cared for and 

 looked after, will take 400 Ib. ; but only in cases of 

 exceptional emergency, or unless their ultimate fate is 

 a matter of indifference, would it be wise to place 

 more than this on the very best weight-carriers. 

 Average It is impossible to lay down a fixed average load 



weight of _ Till 



loads for a convoy, as one camel may be able to carry only 

 300 Ib., and another may take 500 Ib. It is as well 

 for transport purposes to divide them into two classes 

 viz. ' the strong ' and ' the weak ' ; the former will carry 

 from 400 to 450 Ib., the latter from 300 to 350 Ib., 

 though, as I have said before, it would be better to find 

 out each individual animal's strength and capacity. 

 The weight of loads ought to vary considerably, and 

 should depend entirely on (1) length of march, (2) 

 nature of country, and (3) the nature of hardships and 

 deprivations that the camel will have to endure. A 

 good transport officer will, therefore, before fixing his 

 loads, take these points into consideration, and he will 

 also base his calculations on scarcity of food and water, 

 and the severity of the climate. Naturally, the longer 

 the march, and the severer the conditions, the smaller 

 the weight of the loads, and vice versd. 



Muscular The camel, even a denizen of a mountainous 



and ner- . i -i -i i i 



vousdefi- country, is a bad climber, due to want of power 

 hhTd C - y ir behind, and it needs but a glance to detect the marked 



quarters 



