380 THE FUTURE OF ARID LANDS 
feed, camels should produce approximately the same amount of 
meat as sheep. Due to the larger grazing area, more feed is avail- 
able to the camel and productivity should be correspondingly 
higher. 
It therefore seems that from the standpoint of production as 
well as maintenance the camel would be far superior to the sheep. 
(The donkey, now used only in small numbers, can be left out of 
consideration because its meat, for religious reasons, usually is 
not eaten.) The tremendously higher estimated production of the 
camel is a point I would like to emphasize as a most important 
subject for future practical research in order to test the validity 
of the ideas presented here. From the theoretical considerations 
it seems amazingly clear that the camel offers a most obvious 
solution to increased meat production in arid zones with a low 
natural vegetation density that cannot easily be increased. On 
this point practical research is urgently needed. 
Human and Social Factors in Management 
The possible success of practical attempts to utilize the prin- 
ciples just outlined for increased production will depend entirely 
on the management of the herds with respect to avoidance of 
overstocking. Some further human and social factors are also of 
great importance. 
In the areas I know from personal experience, camels are of 
great importance for meat production. At the present time camels 
are butchered when they are very old or when, for other reasons, 
they cannot be kept without difficulties (for example, vicious 
males or sick animals may be butchered young). When meat 
production is the main purpose nothing is gained from maintain- 
ing fully grown animals. It would be better economy to butcher 
the animals young and maintain only the still productive ani- 
mals. For this purpose, of course, all reproducing females are 
productive, and it would seem most efficient to maintain a herd 
of females with a sufficient number of mature (but young) males 
for breeding. Other males should be regarded as having completed 
the role of production. It may require much thoughtful educa- 
tional work before such viewpoints gain general acceptance in 
these areas. 
