THE CAMEL. 449 



that he seems no longer to belong to the hard-working or 

 caravan species ; and when he has attained the full de- 

 gree of fatness his hump assumes the shape of a pyramid, 

 extending its base over the entire back. None of this de- 

 scription, however, are found except among the wealthy 

 Bedouins in the interior, who keep whole herds solely for 

 the purpose of propagating the species. In some pro- 

 vinces butter is made of the camel's milk ; the Aenezes 

 and other northern tribes use it as drink, and also as food 

 for their horses. About the end of spring the wool, which 

 seldom exceeds two Ibs. a-head, is easily taken off the 

 skin with a person's hand. All the flocks of the different 

 owners are branded with a hot iron, that they may be re- 

 cognised should they stray or be stolen. The property of 

 each has a peculiar mark, a ring, a cross, or a triangle, 

 which is usually placed on the neck or the left shoulder. 

 When called home in the evening, which is done by ut- 

 tering a sound resembling that of the letter r, every 

 animal knows its master's face, and putting its own to 

 his, drops down upon its knees as if to ask for supper. 



The two grand services in which camels are employed 

 are riding and carriage. Among the Bedouins females 

 are always more esteemed and dearer than the males : 

 the latter, on the contrary, are most valued in Egypt and 

 Syria, where the quality chiefly wanted is strength in 

 bearing heavy loads. The wandering tribes in Nejed 

 prefer he-camels for riding, while the peasants use only 

 the females on their journeys, because they support thirst 

 better. The term deloul is applied to those that are 

 trained to the saddle, of which the most swift and easy 

 paced are said to be from Oman, though some of the 

 Aenezes have likewise excellent breeds. They differ little 

 from the others in appearance, except that their legs are 

 somewhat more straight and slender ; but there is a noble 

 expression in their eye and in their whole deportment, 

 by which the generous among all animals may be distin- 

 guished. In Egypt and Nubia, the delouls are called 

 hejein ; they are very docile, and have a pleasant amble. 

 The deloul-saddle, throughout every part of Arabia, is 

 called shedad ; and in the equipping of this article the 

 Arab women on all occasions make a great display. In 

 Hejaz, they use a kind of palanquin named shebriah, 

 having a seat made of twisted straw, about five feet in 

 length, placed across the saddle, with cross bars above. 



