26 SAVAGE SURVIVALS 



lichen growing plentifully in arctic and sub-arctic 



regions. 



11. The Camel. 



The camel is a desert animal. It lives in the vast 

 wastes of northern Africa and central and west- 

 ern Asia. It is no longer found wild. It is the 

 chief burden-bearer of the deserts of Africa and 

 Asia. 



There are two chief kinds of camels — ^the one- 

 humped or Arabian camel, and the two-humped 

 or Bactrian camel. The one-humped camel is often 

 called the dromedary, and is used largely for rid- 

 ing. It is found in Northern Africa and Arabia. 

 The two-humped camel is an Asiatic, ranging from 

 the Black Sea eastward thru Siberia, Thibet, 

 and China. There are, in fact, almost as many 

 kinds of camels as there are of horses — some of 

 them adapted to the burning sands of the tropics, 

 others to the snows of Siberia. There is a breed 

 of racing camels that is very fleet of foot. 



The camel is a wonderful being. It is highly 

 adapted to its desert world. No other living ani- 

 mal could take its place. 



Its toes are padded to keep it from sinking into 

 the sea of sand over which it moves. That is one 

 adaptation. 



It has four stomachs, one of which is modified 

 into folds, or ** bottles,'' for storing water. That 

 is another adaptation. 



The hump on its back is a store of fat — a sort 

 of commissary department, or pantry, from which 



