THE CAMEL AND DROMEDARY. 



The Arabians begin their education when they are but a few days old, by 

 bending their legs under their belly ; they are firft flightly loaded and taught 

 to rife ; their burden is then gradually increafed every day, in proportion as 

 they acquire ftrength to bear it, till they are at length enabled to fuftain the 

 weight they are defigned to carry with eafe and convenience; and they know 

 fo well when they have got their proper load, that, if at any time they are 

 overladen, they will remain on their belly, uttering the moll plaintive cries, 

 nor will either perfuafion or force compel them to rife, till they are relieved 

 from the furplus of weight. The larger! full-grown Camels will carry from 

 ten to twelve hundred weight, the fmalleli from fix to feven. In the fame 

 gradual manner, they are enured to fupport hunger and thirll with the 

 greater! patience, being kept without food and water for whole days together, 

 and thefe intervals of abllinence are lengthened in proportion to their ability 

 to fuftain them, till at length they are enabled to exift without any other food 

 than a few dates, or fome fmall balls of bean or barley meal, and without 

 any drink for five or fix days together. They are indeed provided by the 

 beneficent Creator with a wonderful contrivance to fit them for long 

 abllinence, being furnilhed with a fifth llomach, befides the four that they 

 have in common with all animals that chew the cud. This additional 

 llomach, or rather ftomachs(A), for it appears to confirt of feveral cavities like 

 facks, ferves them as a kind of ftore-houfe, to hold a much greater quantity 

 of water than they have prefent occafion for. Ariftotle, who is peculiar for 

 the accuracy of his obfervations, remarks that this animal always dillurbs the 

 water with its feet before it drinks, with an inftinclive intent to render it 

 heavy, and confequently lefs fit to pafs off fpeedily, and more likely to be 

 retained in the llomach for a long time(B); but it feems more probable that 



(a) At the top of the fecond ventricle there were four fquare holes, which were the orifices of about twenty 

 cavities, made like facks, placed between the two membranes which compofe the fubftance of this ventricle. The 

 view of thefe facks made us think, that they might be the refervatories where, Pliny fays, the Camels keep water 

 a long time, which they drink in great abundance, when they meet with it, to fupply their wants in the dry 

 deferts they are ufed to travel in. Memoirs Royal Acad. Scien. Paris, p. 3Q. 



3j£j iQ ift&JlJb*! f x ». (B) Ibid, p. 40. 



