501 HISTORY OF 



one inhabits an immense tract of country, the other, in compari- 

 son, is confined to a province ; the one inliabits the sultry coun- 

 tries of the torrid zone, the other delights in a warm, but not a 

 burning climate ; neither, however, can subsist, or propagate, in 



to stand upon its leg^ ; and, as the mother will not stoop so as to allow it to 

 suck, it would perish with hunger if the keeper did not lift it up to receive 

 the nourishment which nature lias provided. This assistance is rendered to 

 tlie helpless creature for five or six days, during which time it acquires 

 strength to stand upon its legs. We can find no account of the camels of 

 the East wliich mentions tliis circumstance ; it may perhaps be an evidence 

 of the degeneration of the species in Eiu-ope. It is probable, however, that 

 the Arabs, who are distingxiished for tlieir extreme care of tlieir camels and 

 horses, may aflford the same aid to the young, although the fact has not been 

 noticed. In a wild state, it is evident that tlie dam must stoop, or the young 

 camel stand up to suck ; if otherwise, the race could not be continued. 



During the winter, the working camels of Pisa are fed with hay, in largo 

 stables ; but during the remainder of the year they are turned out to pasture 

 with the rest, who remain without shelter during aU seasons. The green 

 and tender grass, which other cattle eat with so much avidity, is neglected 

 by these camels ; but they greedily devour the leaves of the oak, of the cork- 

 oak, and of the alder, and feed with manifest delight on every lurd and dry 

 substance which they cau find, such as the thorn, tlie thistle, and the broom. 

 They drink only once a-day. 



Of the mode of breaking and training the camel by the people of the East, 

 we liave no complete account. M. Santi supplies this information, with 

 regard to those of Tuscany. At the age of four years, a camel which is in. 

 tended for labour is broken in. Ihe trainers first doulile up one of his fore- 

 legs, which they tie fast Avith a cord ; they then pull the cord, and thus 

 usually compel the animal to fall upon his bent knee. If this does not suc- 

 ceed, they tie up both legs, and he falls upon both knees, and upon the cal- 

 losity which is upon his breast. They often accompany this operation with 

 a particular cry, and with a slight blow of a whip. At this cry and blow, 

 witli the addition of a sudden jerk downwards of his halter, the camel gra. 

 dually leams to lie down upou his belly, with his legs doubled mider Mm, 

 at the command of liis driver. Tlie trainers then accustom him to a pack- 

 saddle, and place on it a load, at first light, but increased by degrees, as tlie 

 animal increases in docility; till at last, when he readily lies down at the 

 voice of his driver, and as readily rises up «dth his load, his education is so 

 far complete. The burthen of a full-grown camel of Pisa is sometimes four 

 hundred kilogrammes (above 800 lbs.), but such a load, if we may judge by 

 other accounts, is excessive. 



He is accustomed, in the same gradual manner, to allo^v liis driver to 

 mount, and to obey all his orders, and even his motions, in the direi'tion of 

 his course M. Santi says, that it is neither a tedious nor a difficult task 

 thus to subdue an animal of a timid and gentle nature, without defence, and 

 w hose spirit has been broken by a long- course of slavery. The camels of 

 Pisa, he adds, do not complain with their voices if too heavily laden ; but it 

 would appear that the experience and humanity of the Tuscan guides prevent 

 the necessity for tliis complaint as they know that the camel would not, or 



