Family I. Camelidæ.
(Camels.)
We have said that this Family deviates in some of its characters, from the rest of the Order. "Instead of having short and abruptly truncated toes, completely enveloped in large hoofs, flattened internally, and forming the sole basis on which the animal rests in progression, the Camels and the Llamas have their toes elongated forwards, and terminating in small horny appendages, surrounding the last phalanx [or joint] alone, rounded above and on either side, and somewhat curved, while the under surface of the foot on which they tread is covered only by a thickened callous skin."[1]
The Camelidæ have canines in both jaws; and, contrary to what prevails in the Order, two inci- sors in the upper jaw: the number of incisors below is six; and there are six molars on each side in the upper jaw, and five in the lower, the anterior one of which, small and separated from the rest by a wide space, takes the form of an additional canine. This is, however, wanting in the Llamas.
Besides the usual ruminating structure of the stomachs, the Camels have a peculiar development for the reception and retention of water during long abstinence. "The paunch," observes Mr. Martin, "is divided into two portions by a longitudinal ridge of muscular fibres; in the left is a series of deep cells capable of containing (in the Arabian Camel) four or five quarts of water; in the right is a smaller series holding about a quart. When these cells are
CAMEL'S STOMACH.
filled, the fluid is kept free from mixture with the food by the contraction of the orifice of each cell, and it can be forced out at pleasure by the action of a muscular expansion covering the bottom of this cellular apparatus. The deep cells of the reticulum, are arranged in twelve rows, and are formed by muscular bands intersecting each other transversely. This compartment in the Camel appears to be destined exclusively as a reservoir for water, never receiving solid food, as in the Ox or Sheep." Sir E. Home Ghee "It would appear that Camels, when accustomed to journeys in which they are kept for an unusual number of days without water, acquire the power of dilating the cells, so as to make them contain a more than ordinary supply for their journey." Though this structure has been commonly considered as peculiar to the true Camels, Dr. Knox has shown that the Llamas possess a similar apparatus.
The remaining characters of the Camelidæ are the absence of horns, the great length of the neck, the comparatively small size of the head, the prolongation and mobility of the upper lip, which is deeply cleft by a vertical fissure, and the absence of a naked muzzle, the nostrils forming merely two transverse slits in the skin, which can be closed at the will of the animal.
There are but two genera, one of which is confined to the sandy deserts and arid plains of the Eastern Hemisphere, and the other to the rocky ridges of the Andes in the Western.
Genus Camelus. (Linn.)
The true Camels are distinguished by possessing a broad callous pad or sole, by which the toes, free and separable above, are connected beneath, which is wanting in the American genus; and by the presence of one or more large bunches or humps of fatty substance on the back, giving an uncouth and even grotesque appearance to them, in the estimation of such as are not familiar with them. But, bearing in mind that these animals are intended to be the beasts of burden in immense
CAMEL IN SAND-STORM.
sandy deserts, where for hundreds of miles there is neither vegetation nor water, we perceive in their strange structure but another admirable instance of the wisdom of God, "wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working." "The problem being proposed to construct an animated ma chine that should be best calculated to meet the exigencies of the animal, where could we find a better solution of it than in the construction of the Camel? The pads, or sole-cushions of the—spreading feet, are divided into two toes without being externally separated, which buoy up, as it were, the whole bulk with their expansive elasticity from sinking in the sand, on which it advances with silent step,—the nostrils so formed that the animal can close them at will, to exclude the drift-sand of the parching simoom ;—the powerful upper incisor teeth for assisting in the division of the tough prickly shrubs and dry stunted herbage of the desert;—and above all, the cellular structure of the stomach, which is capable of being converted into an assemblage of water-tanks,—bear ample testimony to the care manifested in the structure of this extraordinary quadruped.” [2]
The head of the Camel is long and somewhat uncouth; placed at the end of a lengthened but ungraceful neck; the orbits of the eyes are protuberant; the ears are small; the upper lip is tumid and cleft. There are callous bosses upon the breast, and upon the bending points of the limbs; a provision for the protection of the animal, when it kneels or lies down upon the burning sand, for repose, or for the reception of its burden.
The Arabian Camel (Camelus dromedarius, Linn.) the species best known to us, is distinguished from its only congener by having but a single hump upon the back, by being rather smaller, and more slightly made, and by the hair being less profuse and closer. Its colour is usually pale brown, but individuals are seen cream-coloured or white. We know nothing of this animal in a wild condition, but in a domesticated state it has existed from the earliest times in Egypt, Arabia, Palestine, and the neighbouring countries. Herds of these useful creatures formed no small part of the pastoral wealth of the venerable patriarchs: Job had six thousand camels;[3] and they are mentioned among the acquisitions of Abram on his first visit to Egypt.[4] Probably the geographical range of the species has scarcely varied from those times till the present: it now spreads over the whole of Northern Africa and Southern Asia, as far as Hindostan; it has been introduced also into Italy and into the Canary Isles.
The frightful deserts of ever-shifting sand which occupy so large a space of this region, well described in Scripture as "that great and terrible wilderness," and as "waste, and howling,"—would be perfectly impassable but for the aid of this invaluable animal. Trackless and limitless, bounded everywhere by the horizon, the unstable surface ever moved and tossed by the wind, and often raised by storms into overwhelming billows, they suggest an unavoidable idea of the ocean; while the tall and ungainly animal which patiently bears its freight of human life and property across the desolation, has obtained, not from Europeans only, but even from wide-scattered tribes of Arabs, the poetical appellation of "the ship of the desert." Numerous caravans of these animals, each burdened with a load of five or six hundred pounds' weight, and arranged in long strings, patiently pursue their toilsome way beneath the scorching sun, at the rate of about twenty-four miles a day. Often, in dry seasons, the wells, which here and there have been dug at long intervals, are found to be destitute of water, when the most appalling privations are sometimes suffered
HALT OF A CARAVAN.
by man and beast: on such occasions, the extreme exigency has prompted the slaughter of the Camel, for the sake of the pittance of water contained in its natural reservoir already alluded to. If, however, abstinence from drinking have been maintained for four or five days, the Camel's internal supply becomes exhausted, and thirst speedily proves fatal.
From its birth, the Camel is trained to kneel, and to receive very heavy loads, at command: its docility is extreme, and it is only in cases of unreasonable oppression that it expresses a sense of injustice by loud cries of complaint. When an overloaded Camel, exhausted with hunger or thirst, sinks down in the desert, it seldom rises again, but must be left to its fate, which is sure and speedy. The vultures quickly begin to collect and wheel round above their victim, impatient to begin their repast; and the skeleton soon adds another to the many, which, bleached by the sun to a dazzling whiteness, are scattered over every part of the tawny wilderness.
There is probably as much difference between the various breeds of Camels, as between those of Horses with us; strength, capacity of endurance, and fleetness, being found in diverse proportions. The Dromedary (the Heirie of the Arabs) is a very light and swift breed, used for carrying a rider a long distance in very short periods of time. Though a fleet horse would quickly leave the heirie behind, the power of sustaining exertion would enable the latter to regain his lost ground, and to continue his unabated course long after his rival. had become exhausted. Wellsted says that it can maintain a speed of six or eight miles an hour, for twenty-four successive hours.
The flesh and milk of the Camel are important parts of an Arab’s diet: its long hair, somewhat woolly in texture, is woven into garments and tents; and the finer hair is imported into Europe for the manufacture of artists’ pencils.. The best is obtained from Persia.