the only disease among the Bactrian camels is an affection of
the tongue, which is covered with blisters, so that the poor animal
cannot eat, and dies from starvation.

The fleece of the Bactrian camel ought to weigh about ten pounds, and
is used for making a coarse and strong cloth. In the summer time the
hair becomes loose, and is easily plucked off by hand, just as sheep
used to be "rowed" before shears were employed in removing the wool.
The camel in the Zooelogical Gardens may be seen in the summer time in
a very ragged state, its fleece hanging in bunches in some parts of
the body, while others are quite bare. The price of the wool is about
six cents a pound.

The skin is used for making straps, ropes, and thongs, and is seldom
tanned. It is thought to be inferior to that of the ox, and is in
consequence sold at a comparatively cheap rate, an entire hide only
fetching about two dollars. The milk is used for food, but is produced
in very small quantities, the average yield being only half a gallon.
The flesh is eaten, and when the animal is fat is tolerably tender,
and is thought to resemble beef. If, however, it be in poor condition,
the meat is so tough and ill-flavored, that none but hungry men, armed
with good teeth, can eat it. The price of a good Bactrian camel is
about fifty dollars.

The weight of a full-grown animal is about one third more than that of
the average ox--that is to say, about twelve hundred pounds. The
average height is seven or eight feet, and the animal generally lives
about thirty-five or forty years.

Dissimilar in external appearance as are the Bactrian and Arabian
camels, their skeletons are so alike, that none but a skilful
anatomist can decide upon the species to which a skeleton has
belonged. The legs of the Bactrian species are rather shorter in
proportion than those of the Arabian animal, and in them lies the
chief distinction of the two species. Indeed, many naturalists deny
that there is any real difference of species, and assert that the two
animals are simply two varieties of the same species.

The specimen in the Zooelogical Gardens is called "Jenny" by the
keeper, and has rather a curious history, being associated with one of
the great events of the present century. During the late Russian war
her mother was taken from the enemy in the Crimea, and was
unfortunately killed. The deserted little one ran about among the
soldiers, and was adopted by the corps of Royal Engin