hausman] GEOGRAPHY AT THE MENAGERIE 35 



The nostrils of the camel are provided with sphincter, or closing 

 muscles, so that it can close its nose tight when the desert sand 

 storms overtake it. The eyes are large and prominent, but are 

 protected from the direct rays of the sun by heavy, overhanging 

 lids. Because the camel is able to travel over the vast seas of 

 sand with such certainty, it has often been called "the ship of the 

 desert." 



The mouth of the camel is lined inside with a tough membrane, 

 which enables it to eat harsh thorny plants, which is the only 

 kind of food that the desert affords it. 



Its heavy coat is at once a protection against the cutting sand, 

 when driven by fierce winds, and also from the heat of the sun. 

 It is a dun, sand color, which matches well the ground over which 

 it travels. Its long sweeping neck, and large eyes give the animal 

 a wide range of vision over the sands. 



Some confusion exists regarding the two names camel and 

 dromedary. The camel with one hump is the Arabian Camel; 

 and the camel with two humps is the Bactrian Camel. The 

 dromedary is any sort of camel either one or two humped, that is 

 swift of gait and is used only for riding, and not for pack carrying. 



The Arabian Camel is the species of the desert and heat. We 

 are accustomed to think of any camel as being fitted for desert 

 life, but the Bactrian Camel, the northern form, is as enduring of 

 cold as its southern brother is of heat. Caravans of these Bacrtian 

 Camels loaded with merchandise, proceed through the snows of 

 winter, or the heat and dust of summer between China and Russia, 

 across the plains of Mongolia and Turkestan. Can you follow 

 their route on the map? This beast has, for centuries been the 

 only means of transportation between China and Russia. Some- 

 times as many as 6,000 camels are driven in a caravan over the 

 great public road from Cairo, in Egypt, to Suez and Mecca. 

 Camels carry freight or passengers, as well as food for themselves 

 and their drivers. An ordinary caravan camel can move at the 

 rate of about 18 miles per day, but a swift dromedary can run 

 for seventy miles without a stop, and in 15 days can cover 700 

 miles! The Bactrian Camel is of great use in time of war to carry 

 cannon. This is called the camel atrillery. 



All of the products obtained from the camel are of value. The 

 finer hair is made into brushes, and fine fabrics, and the coarser 

 hair into tents and ropes. The hide furnishes a very stout leather. 



