Vol. 2. P. 59.

ILong tailed Manis. 2. Spotted Hyena. 3, Kanguroo. 4. Camel. 5, Musk. 6. Giraffe.

could endure, some of the species are an invaluable acquisition to the inhabitants of the districts where they are found.

The number of species hitherto described is seven, of which only two are found on the old continent, the rest being confined to the alpine countries of Chili and Peru. In a wild state they are supposed to be gregarious, and to associate together in vast herds. The fe males have each two teats, and seldom produce more than one young-one at a birth. The hair of these animals is of a soft and silky texture: and their flesh constitutes a palatable food.

Like all the other genera of their order, they are furnished with four stomachs, in consequence of which they not only live solely on vegetable food, but ruminate or chew the cud. They swallow their food unmasticated. This is received into the first stomach, where it remains some time to macerate; and afterwards, when the animal is at rest, by a peculiar action of the muscles, it is returned to the mouth in small quantities, chewed more fully, and then swallowed a second time for digestion.

THE ARABIAN, OR SINGLE-HUNCHED CAMEL*, AND BACTRIAN, OR TWO-HUNCHED CAMEL t.

The Arabian Camel is that, with a single hunch on

* See Plate vii. Fig. 4.

DESCRIPTION. The height of this animal, at the shoulder, is from five to seven feet. The hunch is situated on the middle of the back. The hair is soft, woolly, and very unequal; it is longer on the nape, under the throat, and on the hunch, than on any other parts of the body. Its colour is usually somewhat of a a reddish gray.

SYNONYMS. Camelus Dromedarius. Linn-Le Dromadaire. Buffon.-Dromedary. Smellie.-Arabian or One-hunched Camel. Penn.-Shaw's Gen. Zool. ii. tab. 166.-Bew. Quad. P. 154.

+ DESCRIPTION. The Bactrian Camel is distinguishable at first sight, from the last named species, by the two lumps

its back, which we so frequently see exhibited in the streets of this country. In many parts of the east it is domesticated; and, in carrying heavy burdens over the sandy deserts, it supplies a place which the horse would not be able to fill. The tough and spongy feet of these animals are peculiarly adapted to hot climates, for in the most fatiguing journeys they are never found to crack. The sand seems indeed their element; for no sooner do they quit it, and touch the mud, than they can scarcely keep upon their feet, and their constant stumbling in such situations is exceedingly dangerous to the rider. Their great powers of abstaining from water enable them to pass unwatered tracks of country for seven, eight, or, as Leo Africanus says, for even fifteen days, without requiring any liquid. They can scent water at half a league's distance, and, after a long abstinence, will hasten towards it, long before their drivers perceive where it lies. Their patience under hunger is such, that they will travel many days fed only with a few dates, some small balls of barley-meal, or on the miserable thorny plants they meet with in the deserts. M. Denon informs us, that during his travels in Egypt, the Camels of his caravan had nothing in the day but a single feed of beans, which they chewed for the remainder of the time, either on the journey, or lying down upon the scorching sand, and this without their exhibiting the slightest indication of dis

content.

A large Camel will bear a load of a thousand or twelve hundred pounds, and, with this, it will traverse the deserts. When about to be loaded, these animals,

on the upper part of its body: one of these is situated on the shoulders, and the other at a little distance behind. It is a somewhat larger animal than the Arabian Camel, and its legs are, in proportion, shorter.

SYNONYMS. Camelus Bactrianus. Linnæus.-Le Chameau. Buffon.-Bactrian Camel. Pennant.-Shaw's Gen. Zool. Pl. 167. Bewick's Quad. p. 150.

at the command of their conductor, bend their knees. If any disobey, they are immediately struck with a stick, or their necks are pulled down; and then, as if constrained, and uttering their groan of complaint, they bend themselves, put their bellies on the earth, and remain in this posture till they are loaded and desired to rise. This is the origin of those large callosities on the parts of their bellies, limbs, and knees, which rest on the ground. If over-burdened, the Camels give repeated blows with their heads, to the person who op presses them, and sometimes utter the most lamentable cries.

They have a great share of intelligence, and the Arabs assert that they are so sensible of ill-treatment, that, when this is carried too far, the inflictor will not find it easy to escape their vengeance; and that they will retain the remembrance of an injury till an opportunity offers for gratifying their revenge. Eager, however, to express their resentment, they no longer retain any rancour when once they are satisfied; and it is even sufficient for them to believe they have satisfied their vengeance. Accordingly, when an Arab has excited the rage of a Camel, he throws down his garments in some place near which the animal is to pass, and disposes them in such a manner, that they appear to cover a man sleeping under them. The animal recognises the clothes, seizes them in his teeth, shakes them with violence, and tramples on them in a rage. When his anger is appeased, he leaves them, and then the owner of the garments may make his appearance, and, without fear, may load and guide him as he pleases. "I have sometimes seen these animals, (says M. Sonnini,) weary of the impatience of their riders, stop short, turn round their long necks to bite them, and utter cries of rage. In these circumstances the man must refrain from striking his beast, as that would but increase his fury. Nothing can be done but to have patience, and endeavour to appease the animal by patting him with the hand, and, after a little while, he will resume his way

and his pace of himself." Like the elephant, Camels have their periodical fits of rage, and during these they sometimes have been known to take up a man in their teeth, throw him on the ground, and trample him under their feet.

In eastern countries there is no mode of conveyance so cheap and expeditious as that by Camels. The mer chants and other passengers unite in a caravan, to prevent the insults and robberies of the Arabs. These caravans are often very numerous, and are always composed of more Camels than men. In these commercial travels the march is not hastened: as the route is frequently seven or eight hundred leagues, the motions and journeys are regulated accordingly. The Camels only walk, and they travel thus from ten to twelve leagues a day. Every night they are unloaded, and allowed to pasture at freedom.

When in a rich country, or fertile meadow, they eat, in less than an hour, as much as serves them to ruminate the whole night, and to nourish them during the next day. But they seldom find such pastures, neither is this delicate food necessary for them. They seem to prefer wormwood, thistles, nettles, broom, cassia, and other prickly vegetables, to the softest herbage. As long as they find plants to browse, they easily dispense with water. This faculty of abstaining from the use of water, is an effect of their structure. Till very lately the Camels have been supposed to possess, independently of the four stomachs common to ruminating animals, a fifth bag, which served them as a reservoir for holding water. From a preparation, however, in the collection of Mr. John Hunter, it appears that this fifth bag never existed but in idea. The second stomach is of very peculiar construction, being formed of numerous cells several inches deep, having their mouths uppermost, and the orifices apparently capable of muscular contraction. When the animal drinks, it probably has a power of directing the water into these cells, instead of letting it pass into the first stomach, and when these