186 WILD ANIMALS. 



discovery of water in this way lias sometimes saved human beings 

 from perishing with thirst. 



The colour of the hair of the camel varies considerably from 

 white to such a dark-brown that it approaches black, but it is 

 more often either of a light or darkish grey; the prevailing 

 colour being one that very closely resembles sand. Pure white 

 animals of the dromedary breed are occasionally seen, and are 

 considered very valuable. The hair is shed and renewed once a 

 year about the commencement of the summer. 



The average camel stands between seven and eight feet at the 

 shoulder, and measures between ten and eleven feet in length. 

 The hump or humps certainly do not confer elegance to the 

 animals, but they are, nevertheless, most useful for their welfare. 

 In the highly-bred species it is considered the aristocratic mark 

 of beauty and blood, as it is only developed in perfection in these 

 animals. When certain varieties of the camel are well cared for, 

 the hump has been known to weigh one quarter of the animal's 

 whole body. It is merely a protuberance on the back composed 

 of gelatinous fat, unsupported by any bony formation, and by 

 reabsorption into the system assists materially in nourishing the 

 animal when the nature of the country or unfortunate contin- 

 gencies deprive it of a supply of food proportionate to its exer- 

 tions, " So well is this understood in the Bast that the condition 

 of an animal after a long and trying journey is measured by it. 

 It is not uncommon to see camels come in from such expeditions 

 with backs almost straight, showing but little if any hump. 

 Indeed, the condition of the animal is, throughout camel-land, 

 invariably denoted by the development of this singular excre- 

 scence. When after a journey of extraordinary hardship a 

 caravan has suffered great privations, the Arabs are accustomed 

 to say, ' the camels have lived on their humps.' " 



In other ways the hump does not appear to be intimately con- 

 nected with the vitahty of the animal, for it is said that large 

 portions can be removed without in any manner injuring the 

 beast or disturbing its general hea-lth. 



This disappearance of the hump prior to the complete ex- 

 haustion of the animal, and its reappearance when thoroughly 



