250 THE BOOK OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 



is merely a high-bred, fast-moving Camel, and the difference between 

 the ordinary One-Humped Camel and this latter may be compared 

 to the ordinary Horse and the Racehorse. A Dromedary can travel 

 eight miles an hour with ease for several hours a day, and has been 

 known to traverse a distance of six hundred and thirty miles in five 

 successive days. 



Besides being an inhabitant of Arabia, the species now under 

 review is found in Asia Minor, Syria, Persia, Afghanistan, India, 

 Egypt and Northern Africa generally. Mr. Protheroe says that 

 "it has been introduced, among other places, into the South of 

 Europe, United States and Australia. In the New World is was not 

 a success, and the few animals in Italy are very inferior to those 

 on the other side of the Mediterranean ; but in Australia the Camel 

 has proved invaluable in the desert regions, and the thorough 

 exploration of the interior would have been practically impossible 

 without it." 



The Arabian Camel attains a length of almost seven feet and 

 stands about the same in height at the shoulder, or two feet more to 

 the top of the head. The latter is borne on a long curved neck, and 

 the high arched back is also a characteristic feature. As a general 

 rule the soft, woolly hair is reddish-grey, but there are many differ- 

 ent breeds in Arabia, and these vary in the colour of their coats. 

 On the chest and joints of the legs there are pads of hard skin 

 admirably adapted for serving the beast when it wishes to lie down 

 and rest. The small, rounded ears are worth noticing, and the 

 prominent eyelids and eyebrows well protect the eyes from the sand- 

 storms which are so often encountered upon the desert, and the 

 nostrils can be opened and closed at will, and are thus similarly 

 protected. 



The feet are covered with hardened skin instead of bearing hoofs ; 

 there are two elongated toes which are furnished with soft pads, and 

 these, when opened, enable the Camel to traverse the treacherous 

 sandy desert with a firm tread and without sinking or slipping. 

 The more the construction of this beast is considered the more 

 interesting are its details revealed, for if we examine its inside, we 

 find that is has a collection of water cells, or pockets, in which 

 water may be stored, and upon which the animal can draw as it 

 requires. 



There are, as will be seen, many reasons which fit the Camel as 

 an admirable beast of burden in regions where other animals would 



