448 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA. 



mia they are covered with thick hair, and in general at- 

 tain to a much greater size than in Hejaz, where they 

 have very little wool. The prevailing colour of the 

 Arabian breed is brown or black : further south, as in 

 Egypt,, the hue becomes lighter ; and towards Nubia they 

 are mostly white. The largest kind are from Anatolia, 

 of the Turkoman race ; and the smallest from Yemen. 

 Those of the Eastern Desert near the Euphrates are re- 

 puted the best for carriage ; the Egyptian are less qualified 

 than any other to undergo fatigue, being too well fed to en- 

 dure the privations of the wilderness. The Syrian camel, 

 though smaller than the Anatolian, bears heat and thirst 

 much better. The natives of Nejed are not only remark- 

 able for their fecundity, but are less susceptible of epi- 

 demic diseases than most others ; hence they are preferred 

 by the Bedouins, who repair thither from all quarters that 

 they may renew their flocks. So rich and abundant is 

 that province in the produce referred to, that it has ob- 

 tained the appellation of Om el Bel or the Mother of 

 Camels. In Yemen they are plentiful; but in Hejaz, 

 where pasture is scanty, their number is very limited. 



The Arabs are in the habit of producing a variety of 

 kinds by crossing the breed. The young ones are weaned 

 in the beginning of the second year, and they call them 

 by different names according as they are one, two, three, 

 or four years old ; the latter being the period when they 

 begin to propagate. To prevent them from sucking, a small 

 piece of wood, four inches long and sharp pointed, is 

 driven up the palate and comes out at the nostril, which 

 pricks the mother. Sometimes the teats are covered with 

 a thin round board, or a camlet bag, which is fastened with 

 a string tied round the body. After the fore-teeth have 

 reached their full length the first pair of grinders appear, 

 about the commencement of the sixth year ; the second, 

 third, and last pair make their appearance at the end of 

 two years successively ; so that the animal does not com- 

 plete its full growth until the age of twelve, when it is 

 called ras. It will live as long as forty years ; but after 

 twenty-five or thirty its activity begins to fail, and it is 

 no longer capable of enduring much fatigue. If it be- 

 come lean after passing the sixteenth year, the Arabs say 

 that it can never again be rendered fat ; and in that case 

 they generally sell it at a low price to the peasants. When 

 fed upon tender verdure, this animal improves so much 



