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plenishing. The camel will carry a heavy load, and patiently 

 submit to the utmost his strength will bear, kneeling down for the 

 convenience of his keeper; if he adds more than the accustomed 

 burden, he will not rise, but, making a loud moaning, continues 

 on his knees until the additional weight is removed ; nor can any 

 threatening or blows of the driver effect the contrary. The num- 

 ber of camels in the Mahralta camp occasioned a disagreeable 

 smell ; they were seldom free from sores, and their breath was ge- 

 nerally offensive. 



Few countries or climates agree so well with the camel as the 

 Persian and Arabian deserts, where they are bred in great num- 

 bers; as also on the sandy shores of the Indus, in the domain of 

 the prince of Scindy : man}' are brought from Malwa, Ajmeer, and 

 Nagore. This animal is fit for service at the age of three years; 

 they seldom live more than twenty-five years in India, and do not 

 often breed in the southern provinces. Moisture, either in soil or 

 atmosphere, is not congenial with their constitution, which is 

 formed for the arid tracts they traverse, laden with rich merchan- 

 dize, content with the coarsest food, and a small portion of water. 

 Were it not for this valuable animal, those immense plains of un- 

 dulating; sand would be an insurmountable barrier between the 

 kingdoms on their borders; but the camel conveys both the" mer- 

 chant and his goods from one country to another, with astonishing 

 facility, over deserts trackless as the ocean, which has occasioned 

 the Arabians to name it emphatically, " the ship of the desert." 



A camel's travelling load should not exceed five hundred 

 pounds, some can carry from six to seven hundred; under a weight 

 proportioned to his strength, he will perform the longest journey 



