Anecdotes of the Habits and Instinct of AnimalsLee, R., Mrs.
General
Anecdotes of the Habits and Instinct of Animals
Lee, R., Mrs.
Animal behavior -- Juvenile literature
The Camels and Dromedaries, which come first before me, are confined but
to a small portion of the earth's surface; they, however, in their more
confined sphere afford incalculable benefits. Without them we should not
be able to traverse those large plains of sand, which lie between the
different countries of Africa, and also of south-western Asia. Their
gaunt and angular form does not class them among the beauties to which I
have alluded; and the only pretensions which their outward appearance
can present for praise, is their admirable adaptation for the offices
which they have to perform. Their full, upper lip is cleft, their neck
is long, their eyes prominent and shaded with eye-lashes, their nostrils
are like slits, which they can close at pleasure; their body has one or
two humps on it, their legs have callous pads upon them, their feet are
large and spreading, and their hair hangs loosely upon them in patches.
That long, upper lip, however, when the hot blast of the desert almost
dries their mouth, plunges into the sand and finds momentary relief by
getting below the surface; that long ungainly neck raises the head so
that the prominent eyes may see objects in the far distance; those
nostrils are apertures to the most acute organs of smell, by which they
can even ascertain that water is near; those callous pads enable them to
kneel when they are to be laden, or mounted, and those ugly humps are
provisions of fat, which supply them with nourishment, if, during their
long journeys, there is a scarcity of provisions. One of their most
invaluable properties is the length of time which they can go without
drinking, owing to the large secretion of water in their honeycomb
stomach, while in times of intolerable privation, they may be killed,
and so save their masters from starvation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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