188 WILD ANIMALS. 



reserve for its requirementSj and according to Cuvier it can also 

 secrete it. In common witli all ruminants it has four stomachs ; 

 one of these is a congeries of cells that form a reservoir wherein 

 about twenty pints can be stored away, and it is said, retained 

 there for a considerable time without undergoing deterioration. 

 One celebrated traveller asserts that three pints of not unpleasant 

 water were found in the stomach of an animal that had been dead 

 ten days. Another states that the camels are frequently killed by 

 their thirsty masters for the water they contain, but this fact has 

 not gained credence. 



Camels exhibit a peculiarity in their motion which is unlike that 

 of the majority of animals. Both feet on the same side are 

 lifted successively similar to the stride of the felidoe, and not alter- 

 nately, like the horse for instance. Each step equalling therefore 

 two of the latter animals, the exertion required to go over an 

 equal distance is considerably less; but it gives their pace a curious 

 amble, which as it combines a rolling and pitching motion becomes 

 very exhausting to their riders when they are unaccustomed to it. 



The mistake is frequently made by artists of drawing the 

 camel bounding along with the same swinging stride and move- 

 ment of the limbs exhibited by the horse ; which is of course 

 incorrect. Elijah Walton, in his delineation of the various move- 

 ments of the camel, made after careful study from life, shows that 

 the animal has a very distinct action, in many respects, totally un- 

 like that of any other quadruped not belonging to the same family. 



Camels being so organized that the desert is their appropriate 

 home, they are necessarily capable of living in regions where but 

 scanty nourishment of vegetation can be found, and when in good 

 pasturage they will eat enough in two hours to satisfy them for a 

 whole day. They are said to eat as they go along ; stretching 

 their lengthy necks from one side to the other, they browse on any 

 herbalge the earth produces in their route and they can find within 

 their reach. They also ruminate during the night or the noonday 

 halts of the caravan, for they require only about four hours' sleep 

 or rest during the twenty-four. They appear to have a preference 

 for gathering their own food, and only become fastidious when it 

 is given them ready cut, under these circumstances refusing to 



