126 
THE CAMEL. 
friction to which the parts they grow upon at® 
exposed, have been observed upon a caniel 
just born ; they enable the animal to receive 
its load in the only position in which maW 
could put on that load, and prevent the fraC' 
ture of the skin by the pressure, either wh^a 
it rises or kneels down. The hump on tb® 
back, too, is so far from being the hereditary 
effect of constant pressure, as some have sup' 
posed, that it is a soft, fatty substance, whic'’ 
is gradually absorbed into the system wh^P 
the animal is without food, and is reneW^ 
when it obtains a sufficiency. 
To the Arab and Bedouin the camel 
what the reindeer is to the Laplander^ — -srip^ 
plying the place of the horse, the cow, aP 
the sheep. Its milk is rich and nutritive : 
flesh, when young, is excellent food; and 
hair, which always falls off in the spring? 
manufactured into fine stuffs, and alifl^ 
every article necessary for clothing, beddia^’ 
