FRUGALITY AND POWER OF ABSTINENCE. 



11 



extremes of temperature known in climates habita])le by civil- 

 ized man." 



The introduction of the camel into Tuscany has been a 

 marked success. They have multiplied from a few that were 

 brouo;ht from Upper Egypt, and now number several hundred. 

 They are used on the farm of the Grand Duke at Pisa, where 

 they do excellent service, requiring no food beyond what they 

 can gather for themselves by browsing among tlie pine barrens, 

 and are not housed during winter in the latitude of 43° 30^ 

 north, where the climate is more trying than in our North- 

 western Territories. 



The results of the experiments made with the camels in the 

 Zoological Gardens in London, and the Jardin des PI antes 

 and Jardin d' Acclimation, in Paris, have been equally grati- 

 fying. The camel-attendant in the London gardens told me 

 that the water frequently froze quite solid in the stables, but 

 the animals did not seem to suffer at all from the cold. He 

 considered them, indeed, less liable to be affected by change 

 of weather than the rugged coach-horse of England. 



Jamrock, a famous dealer in animals in London, had six fine 

 camels in his stables last fall, which he told me he could not 

 find a market for in England. He said he had already sup- 

 plied the men of taste who fancied good animals ; that the 

 menageries were full ; and added that they would probably 

 remain so ; that camels were very hardy animals ; never ,died, 

 etc. He seemed quite gloomy about it. 



Frugality and Power of Abstinence. 



The characteristic which pre-eminently distinguishes the 

 camel from other animals of draught' or burden is his frugality 

 and extraordinary power of abstinence. He takes kindly to the 

 coarsest grasses and shrubs, munching dry leaves, branches of 

 pine or cedar, thistles, and other prickly plants, with apparent 

 relish. It is not the custom of the Eastern tribes to feed their 

 camels. They subsist, for the most part, on what they pick up 

 on their travels, and when turned out to browse at night. 

 When herbage and browse are not to be had at all, or as an 

 encouragement at the beginning, or solace at the end of a 

 journey, a few pounds of barley, or a few handfuls of beans or 

 dates are sometimes given ; but this is a rare ebullition of gen- 



