THE l>l{o.MKI>ARY. 



:t:t7 



yet powerful lip, it draws il,,- bwig* or leaves to its moatb, njp off th tender ahooto, aud hold., .1,, tufl 

 of herbage MS it gradually undergoes mastication. 



But even the fare of the desert, hard and wanly as it is, ma; tail, and then its I,,,,,,,,, which itriltM 

 the eye as a deformity, becomes of great use. Its fatty mass is gnulnallv absorbed into .!, 

 wh,ch thus receives the nutriment denied around. After thin process has been gone through, (I,, 

 bur months of repose and plenteous nourishment arc MCMMU? to restore the bump I,- its usual , 

 aon ; nor does this take place till the other parts of the camel are well npleaiahed 1 1, is perfectly 

 natural, therefore, that when an Arab is about to .start on a journey, the first thing about Kiel, ) i 

 ;yixious is the hump of his camel. 



As the winds of the desert are sometimes exceedingly keen and even in Asia Minor the eold is 

 occasionally very severe the camel is adapted to great varieties of temperature. Mr. .MacKaHanc 

 " The winter of 1827-8 was the coldest that had been known for many years in Asia .Minor ; ret, OH 







- -i- 



THK BACTIIIAK CAMKT,. 



the colde>t days, when I, though a native of the north, have been shivering and suffering, I have ol'ten 

 seen the camels, at night-fall, l>i rouacklng near Smyrna, on the banks of the Meles (Homer's ii\. 

 insignificant as is, or was, Fleet-ditch in summer, but a broad, brawling stream in winter), there to |,as> 

 the inclement night in the open air. Their own instinct teaches them to contract their circle, and 

 kneel close together, and their masters merely cover their loins with a material as primitive a,s their 

 modes of life ami encamping. It is a coarse, thick sort of cloth, always dyed red, made of camel's 

 wool, mixed with sheep's wool arid goat's hair." 



The dromedary is termed " Maherry," or "el Heirie," in the Arabian desert, and " Sabav.v," 

 in the North of Africa ; and it will perform very long journeys in an almost incredible space of time. 

 "When tliDii shall nice I a li<-'ir'n , and say to the rider, ' Peace be between ns,' ere lie shall have ails wen-. I, 

 'There i -. peace between us,' he will be far off ; for his swiftness is like the wind," is an Arabian 

 saying. But here there is some exaggeration. A gentle and easy amble of live or live and a half miles 

 an hour is the favourite quick pace of the dromedary, and, if allowed to persevere in il, it will carry 

 VOL. ii. 43 



