Bible animals : $b being a description of every living creature mentioned in the Scripture, from the ape to the coral.Wood, J. G. (John George)
Religion
Bible animals : $b being a description of every living creature mentioned in the Scripture, from the ape to the coral.
Wood, J. G. (John George)
Animals in the Bible; Nature in the Bible
As is the case with the horse in England, the Camels that are used as
beasts of burden are of a heavier, slower, and altogether inferior
breed to those which are employed to carry riders, and all their
accoutrements are of a ruder and meaner order, devoid of the fantastic
ornaments with which Oriental riders are fond of decorating their
favourite animals.
[Illustration: CAMEL.
"They will carry their treasures upon the bunches of camels."--ISA.
xxx. 6.]
In the large illustration are represented two of the ordinary Camels
of burden, as they appear when laden with boughs for the Feast of
Tabernacles. The branches are those of the Hebrew pine, and, as may be
seen, the animals are so heavily laden with them that their forms are
quite hidden under their leafy burdens. The weight which a Camel will
carry varies much, according to the strength of the individual, which
has given rise to the Oriental proverb, "As the camel, so the load."
But an animal of ordinary strength is supposed to be able to carry
from five to six hundred pounds for a short journey, and half as much
for a long one,--a quantity which, as the reader will see, is not so
very great when the bulk of the animal is taken into consideration.
It is remarkable that the Camel knows its own powers, and
instinctively refuses to move if its correct load be exceeded. But,
when it is properly loaded, it will carry its burden for hours
together at exactly the same pace, and without seeming more fatigued
than it was when it started.
The riding Camels are always of a better breed than those which are
used for burden, and may be divided into two classes; namely, those
which are meant for ordinary purposes, and those which are specially
bred for speed and endurance. There is as much difference between the
ordinary riding Camel and the swift Camel as there is between the road
hack and the race-horse. We will first begin with the description of
the common riding Camel and its accoutrements.
The saddle which is intended for a rider is very different from the
pack-saddle on which burdens are carried, and has a long upright
projection in front, to which the rider can hold if he wishes it.
The art of riding the Camel is nearly as difficult of accomplishment
as that of riding the horse, and the preliminary operation of mounting
is not the least difficult portion of it. Of course, to mount a Camel
while the animal is standing is impossible, and accordingly it is
taught to kneel until the rider is seated. Kneeling is a natural
position with the Camel, which is furnished with large callosities or
warts on the legs and breast, which act as cushions on which it may
rest its great weight without abrading the skin. These callosities are
not formed, as some have imagined, by the constant kneeling to which
the Camel is subjected, but are born with it, though of course less
developed than they are after they have been hardened by frequent
pressure against the hot sand.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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