83 
deposit from the blood, while in the antelope in question it 
is produced by growth and hardening of the epidermis or 
outer layer of the skin. The species is now confined to the 
plains of the temperate regions of the west, where they are 
becoming scarce. They are easily tamed, but are very deli¬ 
cate, and will not live for any length of time under restraint 
of any character. 
The Red Deer or Stag ( Cervus elaphus ) of Europe is kept 
in one of these enclosures. This animal is closely similar to 
the wapiti, but is of smaller size and less imposing aspect. 
Other deer resembling this species are found in northern 
and central Asia. 
No. 32.—THE CAMEL PEN. 
The Bactrian, or Double-humped Camel (Camelus 
bactriatius ), and the Common Camel or Dromedary (C. 
dromedarius ) are both originally natives of Asia. The Bac¬ 
trian camel comes from the high, cold plains of Tartary, where 
a few wild ones still remain, and is a more compact and 
powerful beast than the dromedary, which comes from the 
warmer climate of Arabia, and is lighter and more fleet of 
foot. They are much used in the sandy deserts of Arabia 
and northern Africa—nature having specially fitted their 
feet, like those of the ostrich, to the loose soil on which they 
walk, and also having provided them with a means of trav¬ 
eling for several days without requiring a fresh supply of water, 
part of the walls of the stomach supporting a double tissue, 
filled with cells, which absorb from the stomach, after drinking, 
a quantity of water sufficient to remain for some days as a reser¬ 
voir, from which the necessities of the animal may be supplied. 
A number of camels were imported into Texas by the United 
States Government in 1857, with the idea of making them 
available in military operations in the West; but owing to the 
stony nature of much of the soil, for which their feet are not 
adapted, the experiment was not altogether successful. A few 
years ago some of their descendants were said to exist in 
a wild state on the dry plains of Arizona, south of the Gila 
river. 
Fossil remains of members of the Camelida have been 
found in the United States, thus proving that they were once 
indigenous to this country. 
