Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/104

* CAMELID^. form and separation of the toes in the other is suited to tle uneven surface of rocky heights. The head is km,!;, without any horns or antlers, the lips extended and mobile, the neck of un- usual len<rlh: the blood-corpuscles are oval in- stead of circular, as in all other nianuuals, and the digestive organs are characterized bj^ a re- markable peculiarity in the structure of the stomach. "Though these animals ruminate." to quote Flower anil Lydekker, "the ... in- terior of the rumen or paunch (see Ruminant) has no villi on its surface, and there is no dis- tinct psalterium or manyplies. Both the first an<l second compartments are remarkable for the presence of a number of pouches or cells in their walls, with muscular septa, and a sphincter-like arrangement of their orifices, by which they can be shut otT from the rest of the cavity, and into which the fluid portion only of the con- tents of the stomach is allowed to enter." Such is the celebrated arrangement by which the camel stores in its stomach more water than it oan immediately use, and by gradually using it is able to make far longer journeys across arid regions than otherwise would be possible. This has customarily l)een regarded as a very strik- ing special provision for the needs of the camel of the desert : but it is equally characteristic of the llamas, which iiihalut well-watered re- gions, and has evidently descended to both from a remote common ancestry, regardless of present environments. See Alimextary Syistem. The structural evolution of the camel recalls that of the horse. (See Egrin.*.) In the old- est Tertiary rocks of the ancient lake region of the Rocky Slountains, at the dawn of the Eocene, have becii found diminutive remains suggesting this type, and in the Upper Eocene fossil skele- tons undoubtedly cameloid. These belong to an animal ( Prototylops) hardly larger than a jack- rabbit, yet camel-like in many particulars. It had four distinct toes, of which the third and fourth were most useful, «hi!e the lateral sec- ond and fifth were smaller; the metaiiodial bones were discimnected, and there was no space lie- tween the bunodont molars and the front teeth, where the canines and incisors were alike. By. changes that went on analogous to those in other ungulates, there is found in subsequent cameloid tonus increase in size, and a constant tendency toward acquiring the dentition and jiedal anat- omy characterizing modern forms. The ne.xt advanced form is greater in size, and the lateral toes, no longer useful, hang to the side of the ■ foot above the giound like a deer's. A steady increase of size goes throiigh the ascending for- mations of the Miocene, until we reach I'ro- caniclus, at the top of the Miocene (Loup Fork beds of Wyoming), which was as big as a sheep and very llama-like, with teeth nearly of modern type and the metapodial bones firmly united when fully aide toes, the great sole-pads, and the pouched stomach that characterize the race. At the close of the Mioi-ene, however, there came about a steady change toward a ariner, moister climate, inducing forest growth, which put an end to camel life in North America. Meanwhile they had migrated into South Amer- ica, where fossil remains of great size are 80 CAMELOPARDALIS. found, and where the family still survives, in the modified and perhaps degenerate forms of the llanuis; and also northwestward to Siberia, and thence into Central Asia, where their renuiins are foinul in the Pliocene rocks of India, but not earlier. Here the conditions were favorable, and the modern camels seem to have developed. It thus appears that North America was the original home of the Camelida'. and that they "were derived from pig-like animals quite inde- pendently of the time ruminants." For particu- lars as to American fossil ca[nels, consult Wort- man, Kulh'tin AinPrictin Museum Xuiural His- tonj, X. (New York, 1898). CAMELITIA (Neo-Lat.. probably from Gk. Xc-imI, (■hiiiiiiii; on the ground + lyoi'. liiion, flax). A genus of cruciferous plants embracing about a dozen species, most of which are Euro- pean. Cumelina sativa is cultivated in Eui'ope and Asia for the oil contained in the seed. The stalks contain a kind of fibre, which is some- times used for nuikiug brooms. The plant has become introduced into the United States, where it is known as false flax, or gold of pleasure, and is considered a bad Aveed. See Gold of Pleasire. CAMEL'LIA (Neo-Lat., named after Joseph Kamel, a Moravian traveler of the Seventeenth Century, who first described the ViitiirlUii jii- poniea) . A genus of plants of the natural order Ternstroemiaceas nearly hardy evergreen shrubs or trees, and natives of China, Japan, and the north of India. Camellias are now extensively cviltivated as greenhouse shrubs in Europe and in the United States. Many varieties are in cultivation. The best known and most esteemed is Camellia japoniea, a greenhou.se shrub. Its leaves are ovate-elliptical, almost acuminate and serrate shining: the flowers are withoiit stalks, mostly solitary, large, and rose-like. It is a native of .Tapan, and there and in Cliina it has been carefully cultivated from time innncmorial. In its wild state it has red flowers, and the red single camellia is much used by gardeners as a stock on which to graft the fine varieties, the flowers of which are generally double. The colors of the cultivated forms are various, in- cluding red, white, and yellow, and the varieties also dilTer much in the foriu ami position of the petals. The flowering tiuie is in autuuui, win- ter, and spring. Camellias grow best in cool bouses. Free access of air is of great impor- tance, and water must lie given very lilierally, yet with such eaition that the soil may never remain soaked after the inmiediate wants of the ))lant are supplied. The ])roper soil for camel- lias is a loose black mold: a little sand and peat are often advantageously mixed with loam to form it. Camellias are often propagated by cuttings, or layers, but generally by grafting or inarching. The single camellia is also propa- gated by seed, and in this way the best stocks for grafting are procured. Of the other species of camellia, the most hardy, and one of the most beautiful, is Camellia reticulala. The seeds of certain varieties, as Camellia oleifera aiul drii/ii- (era, are used in China for the production of an (ilive-like oil. The true tea-plant is a close ally of the camellia. See Tea. CAMEL'OPARD. See Giraffe. CAMEL'OPAR'DALIS (Gk. Koym/XoTrdpoaXis. k(imetoiiarduli«, girafl'e. literally camel-pard, from