The CAMEL* and DROMEDARY**.


The names Camel and Dromedary signify not two different species, but only two distinct races of the camel, which have subsisted [118] long previous to the records of history. The chief, and perhaps the only sensible character by which these two races are distinguished, is, that the camel has two bunches on the back, and the dromedary but one. The latter is also somewhat smaller and weaker than the camel. But both [119] of them intermix and produce; and the individuals which proceed from this crossing of the races, are the most vigorous, and preferred to all others.* These mongrels form a secondary race, which multiply among themselves, and likewise mix with the primary races. Hence, in this species, as well as in those of other domestic animals, there are many varieties, the most general of which proceed from the influence of [120] different climates. Aristotle* has marked the two principal races with much propriety; the first, or the one with two bunches, under the name of the Bactrian camel,+ and the second under that of the Arabian camel. The first are called Turkish camels,ý and the other Arabian camels. This distinction still subsists; but, as many parts of Africa and Asia are now disco- [121] vered, which were unknown to the antients, it appears, that the dromedary is incomparably more numerous, and more generally diffused, than the camel. The latter is found only in Turkestan,* and some other places of the Levant.+ But, in Arabia, the dromedary is more common than any other beast of burden. It is likewise very numerous in all the northern parts of Africa,ý from the Mediterranean sea to the river Niger.|| It is also found in [122] Egypt,* in Persia, in South Tartary,+ and in the northern parts of India. Thus the dromedary occupies immense territories, and the camel is confined within narrow limits. The first inhabits dry and hot regions, the second, countries which are less dry and more temperate; and the whole species, including both varieties, seems to be limited to a zone of three or four hundred leagues in breadth, extending from Mauritania to China; for, on either side of this zone, it has no existence. This animal, though a native of warm climates, dreads those which are excessively hot. The species terminates where that of the elephant commences; and it can neither subsist under the burning heat of the Torrid Zone, nor under the mild air of the Temperate. It seems to be an original native of Arabia;ý [123] for this is not only the country where they are most numerous, but where they thrive best. Arabia is the driest country in the world, and where water is most rare. The camel is the most sober all animals, and can pass several days without drink.* The soil is almost every where dry and sandy. The feet of the camel are adapted for walking on sands, and the animal cannot support itself on moist and slippery ground.+ [124] This soil produces no pasture; the ox is also wanting; and the camel supplies his place.

When we consider the nature and structure of these animals, we cannot be deceived with regard to their native country, which must be conformed to their frame and temperament, especially when these are not modified by the influence of other climates. In vain have attempts been made to multiply them in Spain;* in vain have they been transported to America. They have neither succeeded in the one country nor in the other; and, in the East Indies, they are not found beyond Surat and Ormus. We mean not to say absolutely, that they cannot subsist and produce in India, Spain, and America, and even in colder countries, as those of France, Germany, &c.+ By keeping them, during the winter, in warm stables; by feeding them well, and treating them with care; by not employing them in labour, and not allowed them to go out for [125] exercise, but in fine weather, their lives might be preserved, and we might even hope to seem them produce. But such productions are rare and feeble; and the parents themselves are weak and languid. In these climates, therefore, they lose all their value, and instead of being useful, they cost their owners much expence in the rearing. But, in their native country, they constitute the sole riches of their masters.* The Arabians regard the camel as a present from heaven, a sacred animal,+ without whose assistance they could neither subsist, carry on trade, nor travel. Camel’s milk is their common food. They also eat its flesh, that of the young camel being reckoned highly savoury. Of the hair of those animals, which is fine and soft, and which is completely renewed every year,ý the Arabians [126] make stuffs for clothes, and other furniture. With their camels, they not only want nothing, but have nothing to fear.+ In one day, they can perform a journey of fifty leagues into the desert, which cuts off every approach from their enemies. All the armies of the world would perish in pursuit of a troop of Arabs. Hence they never submit, unless from choice, to any power. Figure to yourselves a country without verdure, and without water, a burning sun, an air always parched, sandy plains, mountains still more adust, which the eye runs over without perceiving a single animated being; a dead earth, perpetually tossed with the winds, and presenting nothing but bones, scattered flints, rocks perpendicular or overturned; a desert totally void, where the traveller never breathes under a shade, where nothing accompanies him, nothing recalls the idea of animated Nature; absolute solitude, [127] more dreadful than that of the deepest forests; for to man, trees are, at least, visible objects; more solitary and naked, more lost in an unlimited void, he every where beholds space surrounding him as a tomb: The light of the day, more dismal than he darkness of night, serves only to give him a clearer view of his own wretchedness and impotence, and to conceal from his view the barriers of the void, by extending around him that immense abyss which separates him from the habitable parts of the earth; an abyss, which, in vain, he would attempt to traverse; for hunger, thirst, and scorching heat, haunt every moment that remains to him between despair and death.

The Arab, however, by the assistance of his camel, has learned to surmount, and even to appropriate, these frightful intervals of Nature. They serve him for an asylum, the secure his repose, and maintain his independence. But man never uses any thing without abuse? This same free, independent, tranquil, and even rich Arab, instead of regarding his deserts as the ramparts of his liberty, pollutes them with his crimes. He traverses them to carry off slaves and gold from the adjacent nations. He employs them for perpetrating his robberies, which unluckily he enjoys more than his liberty; for his enterprises are almost always successful. notwithstanding the vigilance of his neighbours, and the superiority of their strength, he escapes their pur- [128] suit, and carries off, with impunity, all that he ravages from them. An Arab, who gives himself up to this kind of terrestrial piracy, is early accustomed to the fatigues of travelling, to want of sleep, and to endure hunger, thirst, and heat. With the same view, he instructs, rears, and exercises his camels. A few days after their birth,* he folds their limbs under their belly, forces them to remain on the ground, and, in this situation, loads them with a pretty heavy weight, which is never removed but for the purpose of replacing a greater. Instead of allowing them to feed at pleasure, and to drink when they are dry, he begins with regulating their meals, and makes them gradually travel long journeys, diminishing, at the same time, the quantity of their aliment. When they acquire some strength, they are trained to the course. He excites their emulation by the example of horses, and, in time, he renders them equally swift, and more robust.+ [129] In fine, after he is certain of the strength, fleetness, and sobriety of his camels, he loads them both with his own and their food, sets off with them, arrives unperceived at the confines of the desert, robs the first passengers he meets, pillages he solitary houses, loads his camels with the booty, and, if pursued, he is obliged to accelerate his retreat. It is on these occasions that he unfolds his own talents and those of the camels. He mounts one of the fleetest,* conducts the troop, and makes them travel night and day, without, almost, either stopping, eating, or drinking; and, in this manner, he easily performs a journey of three hundred leagues in eight days.+ [130] During this period of motion and fatigue, his camels are perpetually loaded, and he allows them, each day, one hour only of repose, and a ball of paste. They often run in this manner nine or ten days, without finding water;* and when, by chance, there is a pool at some distance, they scent the water half a league off.+ Thirst makes them double their pace, and they drink as much at once as serves them for the time that is past, and as much to come; for their journeys often last several weeks, and their abstinence continues an equal time. [131]

In Turkey, Persia, Arabia, Egypt, Barbary, &c. all the articles of merchandize are carried by camels.* Of all carriages, it is the cheapest and most expeditious. The merchants 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. Each camel is loaded in proportion to his strength; and, when over-loaded,+ he refuses to march, and continues lying till his burden is lightened. The large camels generally carry a thousand, or [132] even twelve hundred* pounds weight, and the smallest from six to seven hundred.+ In these commercial travels, their march is not hastened: As the route is often seven or eight hundred leagues, their motions and journeys are regulated. They walk only, and perform about from ten to twelve leagues each 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,ý as much as serves them to ruminate the whole night, and to nourish them during twenty-four hours. But they seldom meet with [133] such pastures; neither is this delicate food necessary for them. They even seem to prefer wormwood, thistles,* nettles, broom, cassia,+ and other prickly vegetables, to the softest herbage. As long as they find plants to brouse, they easily dispense with drink.ý

Besides, this facility of abstaining long from drink proceeds not from habit alone, but is rather an effect of their structure. Independent of the four stomachs, which are common to ruminating animals, the camels have a fifth bag, which serves them as a reservoir for water. This fifth stomach is peculiar to the camel. It is so large as to contain a vast quantity of water, where it remains without corrupting, or missing with the other aliments. When the animal is pressed with thirst, and has occasion for water to macerate his dry food in ruminating, he makes part of this water mount into his [134] paunch, or even as high as the oesophagus, by a simple contraction of certain muscles. It is by this singular construction that the camel is enabled to pass several days without drinking, and to take at a time a prodigious quantity of water, which remains in the reservoir pure and limpid, because neither the liquors of the body, nor the juices of digestion, can mix with it.

If we reflect on the dissimilarities in this animal from other quadrupeds, we cannot doubt that his nature has been considerably changed by constraint, slavery, and perpetual labour. Of all animals, the camel is the most antient, the completest, and the most laborious slave. He is the most antient slave, because he inhabits those climates where men were first polished. He is the most complete slave, because, in the other species of domestic animals, as the horse, the dog, the ox, the sheep, the hog, &c. we still find individuals in a state of nature, and which have never submitted to men. But the whole species of the camel is enslaved; for none of them exist in their primitive state of liberty and independence. Lastly, he is the most laborious slave; because he has never been nourished for pomp, like most horses, nor for amusement, like most dogs, nor for the use of the table, like the ox, the hog, and the sheep; because he has always been made a beast of burden, whom men have never taken the trouble of yoking in machines but have regarded the body of the animal as a [135] living carriage, which they may load, or overload, even during sleep; for, when pressed, the load is sometimes not taken off, but he lies down to sleep under it, with his legs folded,* and his body resting on his stomach. Hence they perpetually bear the marks of servitude and pain. Upon the under part of the breast, there is a large callosity as hard as horn, and similar one on the joints of the limbs. Though these callosities are found on all camels, they exhibit a proof that they are not natural, but produced by excessive constraint and painful labour; for they are often filled with pus.+ The breast and legs, therefore, are deformed by callosities; the back is still more disfigured by one or two bunches. The callosities, as well as the bunches, are perpetuated by generation. As it is obvious, that the first deformity proceeds from the constant practice of forcing these animals, from their earliest age,ý to lie on their stomach, with their limbs [136] folded under the body, and, in this situation, to bear both the weight of their own bodies, and that of the loads laid on their backs, we ought to presume that the bunch or bunches have also originated from the unequal pressure of heavy burdens, which would naturally make the flesh, fat, and skin swell; for these bunches are not osseous, but composed of a fleshy substance similar to that of a cow’s udder.* Hence the callosities and bunches should be equally regarded as deformities produced by continual labour and bodily constraint; and, though at first accidental and individual, they are now become permanent and common to the whole species. We may likewise presume, that the gab which contains the water, and is only an appendix to the paunch, has been produced by an unnatural extension of this viscous. The animal, after suffering thirst for a long time, by taking at once as much, and perhaps more water than the stomach could easily contain, this membrane would be gradually extended and dilated; in the same manner as we have seen the stomach of a sheep extend in proportion to the quantity of its aliment. In sheep fed with grain, the stomach is very small; [137] but becomes very large in those fed with herbage alone.

These conjectures would be either fully confirmed or destroyed, if we had wild camels to compare with the domestic. But these animals no where exist in a natural state, or, if they do, no man has observed or described them. We ought to suppose, therefore, that every thing good and beautiful belongs to Nature, and that whatever is defective and deformed in these animals proceeds from the labours and slavery imposed on them by the empire of man. These inoffensive creatures must suffer much; for they utter the most lamentable cries, especially when overloaded. But, though perpetually oppressed, their fortitude is equal to their docility. At the first signal,* they bend their knees and lie down to be loaded,+ which saves their conductor the [138] trouble of raising the goods to a great height. As soon as they are loaded, they rise spontaneously, and without assistance. One of them is mounted by the conductor, who goes before, and regulates the march of all the followers. they require neither whip nor spur. But, when they begin to be tired, their courage is supported, or rather their fatigue is charmed, by singing, or by the sound of some instrument.* Their conductors relieve each other in singing; and, when they want to prolong the journey,+ they give [139] the animals but one hour’s rest; after which, resuming their song, they proceed on their march for several hours more, an the singing is continued till they arrive at another resting lace, when the camels again lie down; and their loads, by unloosing the ropes, are allowed to glide off on each side of the animals. They they sleep on their bellies in the middle of their baggage, which, next morning, is fixed on their backs with equal quickness and facility as it had been detached the evening before.

The callosities and tumours on the breast and legs, the contusions and wounds of the skin, the complete falling off of the hair, hunger, thirst, and meagerness, are not the only inconveniences to which these animals are subjected: To all these evils they are prepared by castration, which is a misfortune greater than any they are obliged to suffer. One male is only left for eight or ten females;* and the labouring camels are, generally geldings. They are unquestionably weaker than unmutilated males; but they are more tractable, and at all seasons ready for service. While the former are not only unmanageable, but almost furious,+ during the rut- [140] ting season, which lasts forty days,* and returns annually in the spring.+ It is then said, that they foam continually, and that one or two red vesicles, as large as dog’s bladder, issue from their mouths.ý In this season, they eat little, attack and bite animals, and even their own ma- [141] sters, to whom, at all other times, they are very submissive. Their mode of copulating differs from that of all other quadrupeds; for the female, instead of standing, lies down on her knees and receives the male in the same position that she reposes, or is loaded.* This posture, to which the animals are early accustomed, becomes natural, since they assume it spontaneously in coition. The time of gestation is near twelve months,+ and, like all large quadrupeds, the females bring forth only one at a birth. Her milk is copious and thick; and, when mixed with a large quantity of water, affords an excellent nourishment to men. The females are not obliged to labour, but are allowed to pasture and [142] produce at full liberty.* The advantage derived from their produce and their milk,+ is perhaps superior to what could be drawn from their working. In some places, however, most of the females are castrated,ý in order to fit them for labour; and it is alledged, that this operation, instead of diminishing, augments their strength, vigour, and plumpness. In general, the fatter camels are, they are the more capable of enduring great fatigue. Their bunches seem to proceed from a redundance of nourishment; for, during long journeys, in which their conductor is obliged to husband their food, and where they often suffer much hunger and thirst, these bunches gradually diminish, and become so flat, that the place where they were is only perceptible by the length of the hair, which is always longer on these parts than on the rest of the back. The meagerness of the body augments in proportion as the bunches decrease. The Moors, who transport all articles of merchandise from Barbary and Numidia, as far as Æthiopia, set out with their camels well laden, which are very fat and vigo- [143] rous; * and bring back the same animals so meagre, that they commonly sell at a low price to the Arabs of the Desert, to be again fattened.

We are told by the antients, that camels are in a condition for propagating at the age of three years.+ This assertion is suspicious; for, in three years, they have not acquired one half of their growth.ý The penis of the male, like that of the bull, is very long, and very slender.|| During erection, it stretches forward, like that of all other quadrupeds; but, in its ordinary state, the sheath is drawn backward, and the urine is discharged from between the hind legs;º so [144] that both males and females urine in the same manner. The young camel suckels his mother twelve months,* but, when meant to be trained, in order to render him strong and robust in the chace, he is allowed to suck and pasture at freedom during the first years, and is not loaded, or made to perform any labour, till he is four years old.+ He generally lives forty and sometimes fifty years,ý which duration of life is proportioned to the time of his growth. There is no foundation for what has been advanced by some authors, that he lives one hundred years.

By considering, under one point of view, all the qualities of this animal, and all the advantages derived from him, it must be acknowledged that he is the most useful creature subjected to the service of man. gold and silk constitute not the true riches of the East. The camel is the genuine treasure of Asia. He is more valuable than the elephant; for he may be said to perform an equal quantity of labour at a twentieth [145] part of the expense. Besides, the whole species are under subjection to man, who propagates and multiplies them at pleasure. But he has no such dominion over the elephants, whom he cannot multiply, and the individuals of whom he conquers with great labour and difficulty. The camel is not only more valuable than the elephant, but is perhaps equal in the utility to horse, the ass, and the ox, when their powers are united. He carries as much as two mules; though he eats as little, and feeds upon herbs equally coarse, as the ass. The female furnishes milk longer than the cow.* The flesh of a young camel is as good and wholesome+ as veal. Their hair is finerý and more in request than the best wool. Even their excrements are useful; for sal ammoniac is made of their urine, and their dung [146] serves for litter* to themselves, as well as to horses, with which people frequently travel+ in countries where no hay or straw can be had. In fine, their dung makes excellent fewel [sic], which burns freelyý, and gives as clear and nearly as hot a flame as dry wood, which is of great use in the deserts, where not a tree is to be found, and where, for want of combustible materials, fire is as scarce as water.º

SUPPLEMENT.


Having little to add to what has been said with regard to the camel and dromedary, we [147] shall content ourselves with quoting a passage from M. Niebuhr’s description of Arabia, p. 144.

“In the county of Iman, most of the camels are of a middle stature, and of a bright brown colour; some of them, however, are large, heavy, and of a deep brown colour. When about to copulate, the female lies down on her legs; and the people tie her fore legs to prevent her from rising. The male sits on his posteriors like dog, which his two fore feet resting on the ground. He seems to be colder and more indifferent than any other animal; for he often requires to be teazed a long time before the ardour of love is excited. When the operation is finished, the female is suddenly raised, and forced to walk. The same thing, it is said, takes place in Mesopotamia, Natolia, and probably every where else.”

I remarked, that camels had been transported to the Canaries, Antilles, and Peru; but that they had not succeeded in any part of the New World. Dr Brown, in his history of Jamaica, affirms, that he saw dromedaries there, which the English, in former times, had transportd thither in great numbers, and that, though they still subsist, they are of little use; because the inhabitants are ignorant of the proper manner of feeding and treating these animals. They, however, multiply in all these climates, and I doubt not but they might produce even in France. We see from the Gazette of June 9 1775, that M. Brin- [148] kenof having made a male and female camel copulate in his territories near Berlin, obtained on the 24th day of March 1775, after a period of twelve months, a young camel, which was healthy and vigorous This fact confirms what I said concerning the production of dromedaries and camels at Dresden; and I am persuaded, that, if we had Arabian servants, who know how to manage these animals, we might soon render this species domestic, which I consider as the most useful of all quadrupeds.


Notes


*There are two species of the camel, the Bactrian camel, and the Arabian camel or Dromedary. They have no cutting teeth in the upper jaw. The upper lip is divided, like that of the hare; and they have six cutting teeth in the lower jaw. -- The Bactrian camel has two bunches on the back, a small head, short ears, and a long, slender, bending neck. The height, to the top of the bunches, is six feet six inches. The hair is soft, longest about the neck, under the throat, and about the bunches. The colour of the hair on the protuberances is dusky, on the other parts it is a reddish ash-colour. The tail is long, the hair on the middle is soft, and coarse, black, and long on the sides. The hoofs are small; the feet flat, divided above, but not through. The bottom of the feet is excessively tough, yet pliant. there rae six callosities on the legs, one on each knee; one of the inside of each fore-leg, on the upper joint; one on the inside of the hind leg, at the bottom of the thigh; another on the lower part of the breast, the places that the animals rests on when it lies down; Pennant’s Synops of Quad. p. 60.

In Greek, [a greek word I can’t transcribe yet]; in Latin, Camelus; in Italian, Camelo; in Spanish Camelo; in German, Koemel, in Hebrew, Gamal; in Chaldean, Gamala, in antient Arabic, Gemal; in modern Arabic, Gimel; in French, Chameau. From these denominations, it appears, that the name of this animal has been adopted into modern languages, with little variation from the antient Hebrew, Chaldean, and Arabic.

Camelus Bactrianus; Arist. Hist. Anim. lib. 2. cap. 1. -- Plin. lib 8. cap 18. -- Gesner, Icon, quad. p. 22. -- Prosp. Alpin. Hist. Nat. Aegypt. tom. 2. p. 224. tab.13.

Camel called Becheti; Leo, Afric. p. 338.

Camelus duobus in dorso tuberibus, seu Bactianus; Raii, Synops. Quad. p. 145.

Camelus Bactrianus, tophis dorsi duobus; Linn. Syst. Natu. p. 90. -- Klein, Quad. p. 41.

Persian camel; Russel’s Aleppo. p. 57. [back to page 118]

**The Arabian camel, or dromedary, has but one bunch on the back. In all other respects it is like the preceeding, and is equally adapted for riding or carrying loads; Pennant’s Synops. of Quad. p. 62.

In Greek [a word I can’t transcribe], or rather Camelus Dromas; for dromas is only an adjective derived from dromos, which signifies swiftness, and camelus dromas is equivalent to the swift running camel. In modern Latin, Dromedarius, in the Levant, Maibary, according to Doctor Shaw.

Camelus Arabicus; Arist. Hist. Anim. lib. 2. cap. 1. -- Plin. lib. 8. cap. 18.

Camelus dromas; Gesner. Quad. p. 159. Icon. Quad. p. 23. Prosp. Alpin. Hist. Aegypt. tom. 1. p. 223. tab. 12.

Camelus unico in dorso gibbo, seu dromedarius; camel or dromedary; Rai, Synops Quad. p. 143. Klein, Quad p. 42.

Camel called Hugiun; Leo Afric. p. 338.

Camelus dromedarius, topho dorsi unico; Linn. Syst. Nat. p. 90.

Chameau; Mem. pour servir a l’hist. des animaux, par. I. p. 69. pl. 7.

Camel with one bunch; Pacock’s travels, vol. 1. p. 207. Shaw’s travels, p. 239. Russel’s Hist. of Aleppo, p. 56. Plaisted’s journal, p. 82. [back to p. 118].

*The Persians have several kinds of camels. Those with two bunches they call bughur, and those with one, schuttur. Of these last there are four kinds. Those called, from their excellence, Ner, that is male, which proceed from a mixture of a dromedary, or a camel with two bunches, and a female with one bunch, which is called Maje, are never allowed to be covered by others, and are so highly esteemed, that some of them sell for a hundred crowns. They carry loads of nine or ten hundred pounds, and are most indefatigable. When in season, they eat little, foam at the moth, grow enraged, and bite. To prevent them from hurting their keepers, the Persians put muzzles o their mouths, which are called agrah. The camels which proceed from this kind degenerate much, and become weak and indolent. It is for this reason tat they are called Jurda Kaidem by the Turks, and see at thirty or forty crowns only.

The third kind, called Lohk, are not so good as the Bugur. When in season, they form not, but push out from under their throat a red bladder, which they again retract with their breath, raise their heads, and ofen swell. The sell at sixty crowns, and are by no means so strong as the other kinds. Hence the Persians, when they speak of a valiant man, say that he is a Ner, and a poltroon is called Lohk. A fourth kind is acllaed by the Persians Schuturi Baad, and by the Turks Jeldovesi, that is, Wind camels. They are smaller, but more sprightly than the other kinds; for instaed of walking, like ordinary camels, they trot and gallop as well as horses; Voyage d’Olearius, tom. 1. p. 550 [back to page 120].

*Camelus proprium inter caeteros quadrupedes habet in dorso, quod tuber appellant, sed ita ut Bactrianae ab Arabiis differant; alteris enim bina, alteris singula tubera habentur; Arist. hist. anim. lib. 2. cap 1. -- Theodore Gaza, whose translation I have uniformly followed when I quote from Aristotle, appears to have rendered this passage in an ambiguous anner: Alteris enim bina, alteris singula tubera habentur, signifies only that some have two, and others but one bunch; while the Greek txt mentions expressly, that the Arabian camels have but one, and the Bactrian camels two bunches. Pliny likewise, who in this article, as well as in many others, copies Aristotle, has translated this passage much better than Gaza; Cameli Bactriani et Arabici differant, quod illi bini habent tubera in dorso, hi singula; Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. 8. cap. 18 [back to page 121]

+ Batriana is a province of Asia, which now includes Turkestan, the country of the Usbecks, &c [back to page 121].

ý We went to Mount Sinai upon camels, because there is no water on this road, and other animals cannot travel without drinking... But the Arabian camels, which are small, and different from those of Cairo, who come from Sour, and other places, can travel three or four days without drink... They travel from Cairo to Jerusalem, not only upon these small Arabian camels, but upon a larger kind, which are called Turkish camels; Voyage de Pietro della Valle, tom. 1. p. 360, et 408. -- In Barbary, the dromedary is called Maihari; and is not so common in Barbary as in the Levant....This species differs from the ordinary camel, by having a rounder and handsomer body, and oly one small bunch on the back; Shaw’s travels [back to page 121].

*The Academy having ordered the missioners sent to China, in quality of King’s mathematicians, to obtain information concerning some particulars in the history of the camel, the Persian ambassador gave the following answers to the queries put to him by M. Constance: 1. That, in Persia, there were no camels with two bunches on the back; but that they came originaly from Turkestan, and belong to the rce of those which the King of the Moors had brought from that country, the only known part of Asia where this kind exists; and that those camels were highly estemmed in Persia, because their two bunches render them more proper for carriges. 2. Thta these bunches are not formed by a curvature of the back-bone, which is here as low as in any other part, but are only excrescences of a glandular substance, similar to that which composes the udders of other animals; and that the anterior bunch is about six inches high, and the posterior an inch lower; Mem. pour servir a l’hist des. animaus, part. I. p. 80 [back to page 122].

+The camels of the Calmuch Tartars are pretty large and strong; but they all have two bunches; Relation de la Grande Tartarie, p. 267 [back to page 122].

ýCamelus animal blandum ac domesticum maxima copia in Africa invenitur, praesertim in desertis Libae, Numidiae, et Barbariae; Leon. Afric. descript. Africae, vol. 2. pag. 748 [back to page 122].

||The Moors have numerous flocks of camels upon the banks of the Niger; Voyage au Senegal, par M. Adanson, p. 36 [back to page 122].

*Audio vero in Ægypto longe plur quam quater centum millia camelorum vivere; Prosp. Alp. Hist. nat. Ægypt. pars I. pag. 226.

+Delectantur etiam Tartari Buratskoi re pecuaria, maxime camelis, quorum ibi magna copia est, unde complures a caravannis ad Sinam tendentibus redimuntur, ita ut optimus camelus duodecim vel ad summum quindecim rubelis haberi possit; Novissima Sinica historiam nostri temporis illustratura, &c. edente G.G. L. pag. 166.--Tartary abounds in catttle, and particularly in horses and camels; Voyage historique de l’Europe. tom. 7. p. 204.
ýArabia is the native country of camels; for, though they are found in all places into which they have been carried, and even multiply in these places; yet there is no part of the earth where they are equally numerous; Voyage du P. Philippe, p. 369.-- Tanta apud Arabes est camelorum copia, ut eorum pauperrimus decem ad minus camelos habeat: Multique sunt quorum quique quatuour centum ac mille etiam numerare possit; Prosp. Alpin. hist. Ægypt. pag. 226 [back to page 123].

*Without the assistance of camels, it would be extremely difficult to traverse the vast deserts of Solyma, where neither bird, wild beast, herbage, nor even a mushroom can be found, and where nothing is to be seen but mountains of sand, quarries, and camel’s bones. These animals sometimes pass six or seven days without drinking, which I should never have believed, if I had not seen the fact verified; Relation du Voyage de Ponet en Ethiopie; Lettres Edisantes, recueil 4. p. 259 -- In going from Aleppo to Ispahan, by the great desert, we travelled near six days without finding water, which, added to the three preceeding, make the nine days I formerly mentioned during which our camels had no drink; Voyage de Tavernier, tom I. p. 202.

+
Camels cannot walk uon fat or slipperty fround. They are only fit fo sandy places; Voyage de Jean Ovington, tom. I. p. 222. -- There are chiefly two kinds of camels, the one proper for warm countries, the other for cold. The camels of very warm countries, as those which come from Ormus, and as fas as Ispahan, cannot walk when the ground is moist and slippery; for, by the spreading of their hind legs, they are in danger of tearing open their bellies: They ar small, and carry loads of only six or seven hundred pounds.....The camels of colder countries, as those from Tauris to Constantinople, are large, and commonly carry burdens of one thousand pounds. They draw themselves out of miry groun; but, when the earth is fat and slippery, they are obiged to go, sometimes to the number of a hundred, at each other’s sides, in order to pass over it; Voyage de Tavernier, tom. I. p. 161 [back to p. 124].

*Camels are frequently seen in Spain. They are sent, by the governours of places, from the frontiers of Africa. But they never live long there; because the country is too cold for them; L’Afrique de Marmol, tom. 1. p. 50 [back to page 125].

+M. le Marquis de Montmirail informs me, that he was assured that the King of Poland had, in the neighbourhood of Dresden, camels and dromedaries which multiplied [back to page 125].

*Ex camelis Arabes divitias ac possessiones aestimant; et fi quando de divitis principis aut nobilis cujusdam sermo siat, possidere aiunt tot camelorum, non aureorum, millia; Leon. Afric. descript. Africae, vol. 2. p. 748 [back to page 126].

+Camelos, quibus Arabia maxime abundat, animalia sancta ii appellant, ex infigni commodo quod ex ipsis indigenae accipiunt; Prosp. Alpin. hist. Ægypt. pars I. p. 225 [back to page 126].

ýIn spring, the hair of the camel falls off so ntirely, that he resembles a scalded hog. He is then smeared all over with pitch, to defend him from the flies. The hair of the camel is a fleece superior to that of any other domestic animal. In these countries, it is made into very fine stuffs, and, in Europe, hats are made of it, by mixing it with beaver’s hair; Voyage de Chardin, tom. 2. p. 28.-- In the spring, the whole hair falls from the camel is less than three days. The skin is completely naked, and then the flies become extremely troublesom, against which there is no other remedy but besmearing the whole body with pitch; Voyage de Tavernier, tom I. p. 162. -- Praeter alia emolumenta quae ex camelis capiunt, veltes quoque et tentoria ex iis habent; ex eorum enim pilis multa siunt, maxime vero pannus, quo et principes oblectantur; Prosp. Alpin. hist. Ægypt. pars I. p. 226 [back to page 126].

+The camels constitute the wealth, the safety, and th strength of the Arabs; for, by means of their camels, they carry all their effects into the deserts, where they have nothing to fear from the invasion of enemies; L’Afrique d’Ogilvy, p. 12. -- Qui porro camelos possident Arabes steriliter vivunt ac libere, utpote cum quibus in desertis gere possint; ad quae, propter ariditatem, nec reges, nec principes pervenire valent; Leon. Afric. descript. Africae, vol. 2. p. 749 [back to page 127].

*The yong camels, from after birth, are obliged to lie on the ground, with their four legs folded under their belly, for fifteen or twenty days, in order to enure them to this posture. They never lie in another position. To learn them temperance and abstinence, they are then allowed very little milk; and, by this practice, they are trained to continue eight or ten days without drinking: And, as to victuals, it is astonishing that so large an animal should live on so small a quantity of food; Voyage de Chardin, tom 2. p. 28 [back to page 129].

+The dromedary is particularly remarkable for swiftness. The Arabs say, that he can travel as far in one day as one of their best horses can do in eight or ten. The Bekh, who conducted us to mount Sinai, was mounted on one of these camels, and often amused us with the great fleeness of the animal on which he rode. He quitted our caravan to reconnoitre another, which was so distant that we could hardly perceive it, and returned to us in less than a quarter of an hour; Shaw’s travels. -- A kind of camels are reared in Arabia for the purposes of the course. They trot so fleetly, that a horse cannot keep up ith them, unless at a gallop; Voyage de Chardin, tom. 2. p. 28 [back to page 129].

*The dromedaries are so fleet that they march tirty five or forty leagues a day, and continue at this rate for eight or ten days through the desert, and eat extremely little. They are used by the Arabs of Numidia and the Lybian Africans as post horses, when a long journey is necessary; they likewise mount these animals in the time of combat; L’Afrique de Marmol. tom. I. p. 49. -- The true dromedary is much lighter and swifter than the other camels; he can travel a hundred miles in a day, and continue at the same rate, across the deserts, with little food, for seven or eight days; L’Afrique d’Ogilby, p. 12 [back to page 130].

+The dromedaries are smaller, more slender, and fleeter than the other camels, and are used only for carrying men. They have a fine soft trot, and easily accomplish forth leagues a day. The rider has only to keep a firm seat; and some people, for fear of falling, are tied on; Relation de Thevenot, tom. I, p. 312 [back to page 130].

*The camel can dispense with drinking during four or five days. A small quantitity of beans and barley, or rather some morsels of paste made of flour, are sufficient for his daily nourishment. This fact I often experienced in my journey to mount Sinai. Though each of our camels carried seven quintals, we travelled ten, and sometimes fifteen hours a day, at the rate of two and a hlaf miles every hour; Shaw’s travels. -- Aden sitim cameli tolerant, ut potu absque incommodo diebus quindecim abstinere possint. Nociturus alioquin si camelarius triduo absoluto aquam illis porrigat, quod singulis quinis aut novenis diebus consueto more potentur vel urgente necessitate quindenis; Leon. Afric. descript. Africae. vol. 2. p. 749. -- The patience with which the camels suffeer thirst is truly admirable. The last time I travelled the deserts, which the caravan did not clear in less than sixty-five days, our camels were once nine days without drink; because, during all this time, we found no water; Voyage de Tavernier, tom. I. p. 162 [back to page 131].

+We arrived at a hilly country: At the foot of the hills were large pools. Our camels, which had passed nine days without drink, smelled the water at the distance of half a league. They instantly began their hard trot, which is their mode of running, and entering the pools in troops, they first troubled the water, &c. Tavernier, tom. I, p. 202 [back to page 131].

*The camels are very commodious for carrying baggage and merchandize at a small expence.-- Their steps, as well as their journey, are regulated. -- Their food is cheap; for they live on thistles, nettles, &c. -- They suffer drought two or three days; Voyage d’Olearius, tom. I. p. 552 [back to page 132].

+When about to be loaded, at the cry of their conductor, they instantly bend their knees. If any of them disobey, they are instantly struck with a stick, or their necks are pulled down; and then, as if constrained, and complaining in their own manner, they bend their knees, put their bellies on the earth, and remain in this posture till they are loaded and commanded to rise. This is the origin of those large collosities on the parts of their bellies, limbs, and knees, which rest on the ground. If over-burdened, they give repeated blows with their heads to the person who oppresses them, and set up lamentable cries. Their ordinary load is double that which the strongest mule can carry; Voyage du P. Philippe, p. 369 [back to page 132].

*Some camels can carry loads of fifteen hundred pounds. But they are never burdened in this manner, unless when the merchants approach the places where the imposts on goods are levied, which they mean partly to evade, by laying as much on one camel as was carried before by two. But, with this great load, they travel not above two or three leagues a day; Voyage de Tavernier, tom. 2. p. 335 [back to page 133].

+In the East, the camel is called a land ship, on account of the great load he carries, which, for large camels is generally twelve or thirteen hundred pounds; for there are two kinds, the northern and the southern, as they are denominated by the Persians. The latter, who travel only from the Persic Gulf to Ispahan, are much smaller than the others, and carry only about seven hundred pounds; but they bring as much, if not more profit to their masters, because their food hardly costs any thing. They march loaded in this manner, pasturing along the road, without bridle or halter; Voyage de Chardin, tom. 2. p. 27.

ý
Victum cameli parcissimum, exiguique sumptus serunt, et magnis laboribus robustissime resistunt. -- Nullum animal illus et molis citius comedit; Prosp. Alpin. Hist. Egypt. p. 225 [back to page 133].

*When the camels are unloaded, they are allowed to go in quest of briars and brambles. -- Through the camel is a large animal, he eats little, and is content with what he finds. He searches particularly for thistles, of which he is very fond; Voyage de Tavernier, tom. I. p. 162 [back to page 134].

+Cameli pascentes spinam in Egypto acutam, arabicamque etiam vacatam Acadiam, in arabia Petrea, atque juncum odoratum in Arabia deserta, ubivis absynthii species aliasque herbas et virgulata spinosa que in desertis reperiuntur; Prosp. Alpin. Hist. Egypt. part. I. p. 226 [back to page 134].

*In the night, camels sleep on their knees, and ruminate what they have eaten during the day; Voyage du P. Philippe, p. 369 [back to page 136].

+Having opened the callosities on the legs to examine their structure, which is a medium between fat and ligament, we found, in a small camel, that some of them contained a collection of thick pus. The callosity on the sternum was eight inches long, six broad, and two thick. In it likewise we found a great deal of pus; Mem. pour servir à l’hist. des animaux, part. I, p. 74 [back to page 136].

ýAs soon as a camel is brought forth, his four legs are folded under his body. After which he is covered with a cloth, which hangs down to the ground, and on the borders of which a uantity of stones are laid, to prevent him from rising, and in this position he remains fifteen or twenty days. He is served with milk, but very sparingly, in order to accustom him to drink little; Voyage de Tavernier, tom I. p. 161 [back to page 136].

*The flesh of the camel is insipid, especially that of the bunch, the taste of which resembles that of a fat cow’s udder; L’Afrique de Marmol, tom. I. p. 50 [back to page 137].

*The camels are so obedient to their master, that, when he wants to load or unload them, by a single word or signal they instantly lie down on their bellies. Their food is small and their labour great; Cosmog. du Levant, par Thevet, p. 74. -- They are accustomed to lie down to be loaded, by having their legs folded under them when very young; and their obedience is so prompt as to excite admiration. Whenever the caravan rrives at the place of encampment, all the camels which belong to one master range themselves spontaneously in a circular form, and lie down on their four legs; so that, by loosing a cord which binds the bales, they gently fall down on each side of the animal. When the time of loading arrives, the same camel comes and lies down between the bales, and, after they are fixed, rises softly with his load. This exercise he performs in a short time, and without the smallest trouble or noise; Voyage de Tavernier, tom. I. p. 160 [back to page 138].

+The camels, when about to be loaded, lie down on their four legs, and then rise with their burden; Voyage de la Boulaie-le-Gouz, p. 255. -- The camels lie down to be loaded or unloaded, and rise when desired; Relation de Thevenot, tom I. p. 312 [back to page 138].

*The camels rejoice at the harmonious sound of the voice, or of some instrument..... The Arabs use timbrels, because whipping does not ake the animals advance. But music, and particularly that of the human voice, animates and gives them courage; Voyage d’Olearius, tom. I. p. 552. -- When their conductor wants to mke his camels perform extraordinary journeys, instead of chastising, he encourages them with a song; and, though they had formerly stopt [sic], and refused to proceed farther, they now go on cheerfully, and quicker than a horse when pushed with the spur; L’Afrique de Marmol, tom. I. p. 47. -- The master conducts his camels by singing, and, from time to time, blowing his whistle. The more he sings, and the louder he blows, the animals march the quicker; and, when he ceases to sing, they stop. Their conductors relieve each other by singing alternately, &c. Voyage de Tavernier, tom. I. p. 163 [back to page 139].

+
It is remarkable, that the camels learn to march by a kind of singing; for they proceed quickly or slowly, according to the sound of the voice. In the same manner, when their masters want an extraordinary journey performed, they know the tunes which the animals love best to hear; Voyage de Chardin, tom. 2. p. 28 [back to page 139].

*The Africans geld all their camels which are destined to carry burdens, and only one entire male is left for ten females; L’Afrique de Marmot, tom. I. p. 48 [back to page 140].

+In the rutting season, the camels are extremely troublesome. They fret and foam, and bite every person who approaches them, and for that reason they are muzzled; Relations de Thevenot, tom. 2. p. 222. -- When the camels are in season, those who have the charge of them are obliged to muzzle them, and to be much on their guard; for the animals are mischievous, and even furious; Voyage de Jean Ovington, tom. I. p. 222 [back to page 140].

*The camels, in the season of love, are dangerous. This season continues forty days, and, when past, they resume their ordinary mildness; L’Afrique de Marmol, tom. I. p. 49 [back to page 141].

+The male camels, which, in all other seasons, are extremely gentle and tractable, become furious in the spring, which is the time of the copulating. Like the cats, the camels generally perform this operation during the night. the sheath of their penis then lengthens, as happens to all animals which lie much on their bellies. At all other times, it is more contracted and inclined backward, that they may discharge their urine with more ease; Shaw’s travels. -- In the month of February, the camels come in season, and the males are so furious, that they foam incessantly at the mouth; Voyage de la Boulaie le Gouz, p. 256 [back to page 141].

ýWhen the camel is in season, he continues forty days without eating or drinking; and he is then so furious, tht, unless prevented, he bites every person who comes near him. Wherever he bites, he carries off the piece; and from his moth there issues a white foam, accompanied with two bladders, which are large and blown up like the bladder of a hog; Voyage de Tavernier, tom. I, p. 161. -- The camels, when in season, live forty two days without food; Relat. de Thevenot, tom. 2, p. 222. -- “Veneris furore diebus quadraginta permanent famis patientes;” Leon. Afric. vol. 2. p. 748. -- In the rutting season, which lasts five or six weeks, the camel eats much less than at any other time; Voyage de Chardin, tom. 2. p. 28 [back to page 141].

*When the camels copulate, the female lies down in the same manner as when she is about to be loaded. Some of them go thirteen months with young; Relation de Threvenot, tom. 2. p. 223. -- The female receives the male lying on her belly; Voyage de Jean Ovington, p. 223. -- It is remarkable, that, when these animals copulate, the females lie on their bellies in the same manner as when they are loading. The time of their gestation is from eleven to twelve months; Voyage de Chardin, tom. 2. p. 28. -- It is true, that the females go with young twelve months: But those who assert, that, during the time of coition, the male turns his crupper to the female, are deceived. This error proceeds from the circumstance of his discharging his urine backward by placing the penis between the two hind legs. But, in copulating, the female lies on her belly, and receives the make in that position; Voyage de Olearius, tom. I. p. 553 [back to page 142].

+The females go with oung near twelve onths, or from one spring to the following; Shaw’s travels [back to page 142].

*Camelos foeminas intactas propter earum lac servant, eas omni labore solutas vagari permittentes per loca sylvestria pascentes, &c.; Prosp. Alpin. Hist. Ægypt, part. I. p. 226 [back to page 143].
+Of the camel’s milk, small cheeses are made, which are very dear, and highly esteemed among the Arabs; Voyage du P. Philippe. p. 370 [back to page 143].

ýThe males are castrated; and the females sometimes undergo a similar operation, which renders them stronger and larger; Wotton, p. 82 [back to page 144].

*When the camels begin their journey, it is necessary that they should be fat; for, when this animals has travelled forty or fifty days without having barley to eat, the fat of the bunches begins to diminish, then that of the belly, and lastly, that of the limbs; after which he is no longer able to carry his load.... The caravans of Africa, which travel to Æthiopia, never think of bringing back their camels; because they transport no heavy goods from that country; and, when they arrive, they sell their meagre animals; L’Afrique de Marmol, tom. I. p. 49. -- Camelos macilentos, dorsique vulneribus faucios, vili pretio Desertorum incolis saginandos divendunt; Leon. Afric. descript. Africae, vol. 2. p. 479 [back to page 144].

+Incipt mas et foemina coire in trimatu; Arist. Hist. anim. lib. 5. cap .14 [back to page 144].

ýIn the year 1752, we saw a female camel of three years of age... She had not acquired above one half of her stature; Hist. Nat. des animaus, par Mess. Arnault de Nobleville et Salerne, tom. 4. p. 126. et 130 [back to page 144].

||Though the camel is a large animal, his penis, which is at least three feet long, is not thicker than the little finger of a man; Voyage d’Olearius, tom. I. p. 554 [back to page 144].

ºThe camels discharge their urine backward. Persons unacquainted with this circumstance, are liable to have their clothes soiled with urine; Cosmographie du Levant, par Thevet, p. 74. -- The camel discharges his urine backward; Voyage de Villamount, p. 688 [back to page 144].

*Separant prolem a parente anniculam; Arist. Hist. anim. lib. 6. cap. 26 [back to page 145].

+The camels called Hegin by the Africans, are the largest; but they are never loaded till they are four years old; L’Afrique de Marmol. tom. 1. p. 48 [back to page 145].

ýCamelus vivit diu, plus enim quam quadraginta annos; Arist. Hist. anim. lib. 6. cap. 26 [back to page 145].

*Parit in vere, et lac suum usque eo servat quo jam conceperit; Arist. Hist. anim. lib. 6. cap. 26. -- Foemina post partum interposito anno coit; Id. lib. 5. cap. 14 [back to page 146].

+The Africans and Arabs fill their pots and tubs with camels flesh, which is fried with grease, and preserved in this manner during the whole year for their ordinary repasts; L’Afrique de Marmol, tom. I. p. 50. -- Praeter alia animalia quorum carnem in cibo plurimi faciunt, cameli in magno honore existunt; in Arabum principum castris cameli plures unius anni aut biennes mactantus, quorum carnes avide comedunt, easque odoratas, suaves, atque optimas esse fatentur; Prosp. Alpin. Hist. Ægypt. part. I. p. 226 [back to page 146].

ýSocks are made of the camel’s hair; and, in Persia, fine girdles are made of it, some of which, especially when white, cost two tomans, because camels of this colour are rare; Relation de Thevenot, tom. 2. p. 223 [back to page 146].

*Their own dung serves them for litter. For this purpose it is exposed to the sun during the day, and sun dries it so completely, that it crumbles down into a kind of powder, which is carefully spread for litter; Relation de Thevenot, p. 73 [back to page 147].

+The antients tell us, without any foundation, that the camles have a great antipathy to horses. I could not learn, says Olearius, why Pliny, after Xenophon, should advance, that camels have an aversion to horses. When I mentioned it to the Persians, they laughed at me.... There is hardly a caravan in which there are not camels, horses, and asses, all lodged promiscuously together, without discovered the smallest aversion or animosity against each other; Voyage d’Olearius. tom. I. p. 553 [back to page 147].

ýThe camels dung left by some caravans which had gone before us, generally served us for fewel; for, after being exposed a day or two to the sun, it is easily inflamed, and burns as clear and with as strong a heat as dried wood or charcoal; Shaw’s travels.

ºHist. Nat. des animaux, par Mess. Arnault de Nobleville et Salerne, tom. 4. p. 313 [back to page 147].

.