CAM 
CAM 
CAMELOPARDALIS, the camelopard, 
giraffe, in natural history, a genus of the 
Mammalia and order Pecora. The generic 
character; horns covered with a bristly 
skin, bony and permanent; in tlie lower 
jaw eight teeth in front, and on each side 
the exterior tooth deeply bilobate. There 
is but one species ; viz, the Giraffe, which, 
when fully grown, has been known to at- 
tain the extraordinaiy height among qua- 
drupeds of seventeen feet. Its head is 
' small ; its aspect gentle ; its fore parts are 
much higher than those behind; its colours 
arranged so as particularly to please the 
eye ; and its form, notwithstanding the very 
great length of the neck, and a general sin- 
gularity, possesses great beauty and ele- 
gance. It is a native of several parts of 
Africa, living in forests, principally upon 
the foliage of trees. It is mild and inoffen- 
sive, and in all cases of danger has recourse, 
in the first instance, to flight ; when obliged 
to defend itself, however, it employs very 
forcible kicking. Its general pace is a brisk 
trot. Giraffes are sometimes seen in small 
groups of six or seven. Tliey were first in- 
troduced into Europe at the Circean games, 
by Julius Caesar, and in the sixteenth cen- 
tury, one was presented to Laurentius de 
Medicis by the Dey of Tunis. The most 
accurate describer of this animal is La Vail- 
lant. See Plate IV. fig, 1. 
CAMELOPARDALUS, a new constel- 
lation of the northern hemisphere, formed 
by Hevelius, consisting of thirty-two stars, 
first observed by him. It is situated be- 
tween Gepheus, Cassiopeia, Perseus, the 
two Bears, and Draco. See Astronomy. 
GAMELUS, camel, in natural histoiy, a 
genus of the Mammalia, of the order Peco- 
ra. The generic character : horns none ■ 
sik front teeth in the lower jaw, thin and 
broad ; the canine teeth distant, three in 
the upper jaw, and in the lower two ; upper 
lip divided, There are seven species enu- 
merated by Shaw, of which we shall briefly 
notice the following: C. dromedarius, or 
Arabian camel : its general appearance, par- 
ticularly in consequence of the dorsal 
bunch, gives the idea of deformity, or even 
of monstrosity; but, in some attitudes, its 
aspect is far from inelegant. It inhabits 
various parts of Asia and Africa, is found 
even in Jamaica and Barbadoes, and is ea- 
sily domesticated. Even a country, such 
as Arabia, destitute of water and of ver- 
dure, and under a burning sun, where the 
traveller seldom breathes under a shade, 
and feels lost in a boundless expanse of de- 
solation, by the assistance of the camel, is 
rendered habitable, and the seat of inde- 
pendence and comfort. These animals are 
trained with great assiduity by the Arabs. 
They will carry a weight of 120016*., and 
have been known to complete a journey of 
300 leagues within eight days. They wilt 
travel eight or nine days without water, 
which they scent at the distance of half a 
league, and drink most copiously when 
they reach it. Delicate food is far from 
being requisite for them, and tliey seem 
even to prefer the thorns and nettles of the 
wilderness; and while they find plants to 
brouse can dispense easily with the want of 
drink. They have, besides the four sto- 
machs common to all ruminating animals, a 
fifth, in which they preserve a great quan- 
tity of water, unmixed with the liquors of 
the body and the digestive juices, and from 
which, by the contraction of certain mus- 
cles, they make the water mount into their 
stomachs and throats to macerate their dry 
food. 
Travellers in the East, when hard pressed 
with thirst, have killed their camels to ob- 
tain a supply from this natural and singular 
receptacle. 
In Turkey, Persia, Arabia, Egypt, and 
Barbary, camels are almost uniformly em- 
ployed in the conveyance of merchandise. 
They are considered as living carriages, 
and their burden is often not taken off dur- 
ing their sleep. They kneel down to be 
loaded and unloaded, at the command of 
their keepers, and are the most patient, la- 
borious, and valuable of slaves. Their milk, 
and even their flesh, are used by the Ara- 
bians for food. Their hair is extremely 
soft and wrought into a great variety of the 
most useful and indeed costly stufis. See 
Mammalia, Plate IV. fig. 3, 
C. bactrianus, the Bactrian camel. This 
is somewhat larger and swifter than the 
former, and has on its back two bunches. 
In the deserts bordering on China it is 
found wild, as also in the north of India, 
whence it is imported into Arabia, chiefly 
for the use of the great and opulent. In 
China a particular breed of them is distin- 
guished by the designation oft' Camels with 
feet of wind.” Fig. 2, 
C. glama. These animals have by some 
authors been called the Peruvian sheep. 
They are particularly abundant in Peru, 
feeding in immense herds on the bleakest 
mountains. Their size is about that of a 
stag. They were the only beasts of bur- 
den among the ancient Peruvians, and will 
