312 THE CAMEL 



expedition, the authorities could impress a certain per- 

 centage of such transport, wheeled, draught, or pack ; 

 but so as not to seriously interfere with the ordinary 

 trading and agricultural operations. 



its value This scheme, if properly organised and fostered, 



ought, in India at all events, to assist in enabling the 

 transport system which the Indian Government have 

 established to meet a crisis better than hitherto ; 

 though, as pointed out, its weak point would be drivers, 

 and there would always be a certain amount of diffi- 

 culty in obtaining good animals, for owners would 

 naturally try and get rid of the worst. Whether our 

 Afghan experiences have sufficiently impressed the 

 Indian authorities to persuade them to organise and 

 create a thorough system, capable of coping with a big 

 war, I cannot say, as we have had no serious undertak- 

 ing out there since then. But no matter how elaborate 

 and seemingly perfect the working of the system may 

 appear, without a sufficiency and efficiency of animals 

 and drivers where shall we be ? No nearer, I imagine, 

 than before. 



Hints to A few hints that I have picked up in my wander- 



purchasera ings will not be out of place here, and may prove of 

 some use to intending purchasers. It is a mistake to 

 suppose that all, or nearly all, breeds of camels make 

 good baggagers, and, as I have previously pointed out 

 in chapter iv., there is a vast difference between breeds 

 in carrying capacity and endurance, those bred in 

 civilised and cultivated districts being, as a rule, larger 

 animals and greater weight-carriers, but far less 

 enduring and abstaining than the desert breeds. On 

 the whole, therefore, the latter are by far the best for 



