324 MAMMALIA—CAMEL. 
often they are many weeks in travelling; and their time of abstinence en 
dures as long as they are upon their journey. 
In Turkey, Persia, Egypt, Arabia, Barbary, &c., they use no other cars 
riage for their merchandise, than camels, which is, of all their conveyances, 
the most ready, and the cheapest. Merchants, and other travellers, assem- 
ble themselves in caravans, to avoid the insults and piracies of the Arabs. 
These caravans are often very numerous, and often composed of more 
eamels than men. Every one of these camels is loaded according to his 
strength ; and he is so sensible of it himself, that when a heavier load than 
usual is put upon him, he refuses it, by constantly remaining in his resting 
posture, till he is lightened of some of his burden. 
Large and strong camels generally carry a thousand, and even twelve 
hundred weight ; the smaller only six or seven hundred. In these commer- 
cial journeys they do not travel quick; and as the route is often seven or 
eight hundred miles, they regulate’ their stages. They only walk, and go 
every day ten or twelve miles; they are disburthened every evening, and are 
suffered to feed at liberty. If they are ina part of the country where there 
is pasture, they eat enough in one hour to serve them twenty-four, and to 
ruminate on, during the whole night; but they seldom meet with pastures, 
and this delicate food is not necessary for them. They even seem to prefer 
wormwood, thistles, nettles, furze, and other thorny vegetables, to the 
milder herbs; and so long as they can find plants to browse on, they very 
easily live without any drink. When a caravan arrives at a wadey, or 
watering place, in the desert, it usually halts for some days. Nothing can 
exceed the delight with which both men and beasts reach one of these pools. 
The facility with which they abstain so long’ from drinking, is not pure 
habit, but rather an effect of their formation. Independent of the four 
stomachs, which are commonly found in ruminating animals, the camel is 
possessed of a fifth bag, which serves him as a reservoir to retain the water. 
‘This fifth stomach is peculiar to the camel. It is of so vast a capacity, as 
te contain a great quantity of liquor, where it remains without corruption, 
or without the other aliments being able to mix with it. When the animal 
is pressed with thirst, or has occasion to dilute the dry food, and to mace- 
rate it for rumination, he causes a part of this water to reascend into the 
stomach, and even to the throat, by a simple contraction of the muscles. 
This animal bears about him all the marks of slavery and pain; below 
the breast, upon the sternum, is a thick and large callosity, as tough as 
horn; tne like substance appears upon the joints of the legs. And, although 
these callosities are to be met with in every animal, yet they plainly prove 
that they are not natural, but produced by an excessive constraint and 
pain, as appears from their being often found filled with pus. It is there- 
fore evident, that this deformity proceeds from the custom to which these 
animals are constrained, of forcing them, when quite young, to lie upon 
their stomach with their legs bent under them, and in that eremped posture 
