M lens Runnoeo age 11, of Marinette, Wis,, for her question:

How old is a full grown camel

The new born camel is three feet tall, dust strong enough to stand on his wobbly legs, but too weak to walk. He heeds to cuddle against his big, warm, shaggy Mama and feed on her milk. When he s two or three days old, Juniors legs are strong enough to take him walking. The little f ells will toddle along after Mama and, if she gets too far ahead, he bleats like an angry calf,

Junior's mother is a work camel. She is obedient arid very reliable. But she does not enjoy her work and she often expresses downright dislikefor her human masters. The hoity‑toity sneer on the face of the average adult camel expresses quite a nasty disposition. But here is another side to Mrs. Camel's nature. She has only affection a tender devotion for Junior. During his babyhood, she refuses to let h m out of her sight.

Sometimes the mother camel has to go to work while Junior is still a baby. This is a problem. The little fellow is too weak to keep up with the parade of camels and Mama refuses to leave without him. Why not wrap him as a papoose arid add him to the luggage on mother's back? This will not do at all, for when it comes to brains, a camel is not too smart, Mrs. Camel believes only what she sees.

If Junior is riding on her backs she cannot see him She turns this over in her mind for a. while and comes up with an idea. Obviously, she thinks, the careless caravan must have left her darling behind at the last oasis. She turns around and gallops back along the trail at full speed ‑ and all the time, Junior is bobbing up and down her hump.

Camel drivers know that Mrs. Camel is not too bright and believes only what she sees. So they fix things so that she will be able to keep her little darling in sight.

He is tied onto the hump of a nurse camel, along with all sorts of other baggage. The nurse has one important duty. She must walk directly In front of Junior’s Mama, so that the loving mother can know that all is well.

When the dusty desert day is done, Junior comas down from his porch and runs to his mother. The desert night is chilly and he needs to cuddle against motherts shaggy warmth. Junior will feed on mother’s milk for several months, then he mist be weaned. This is a very hard time for the young camel and he protests loudly. He often keeps the camel drivers awake all night with his bleating,

In his third year, Junior is a young man and able to parry his share of baggage across the desert. He is now old enough to have children of his own. For 15 to 20 years, he will be able to parry a full load of 500 to 600 pounds. He is then an old fellow though he still can carry a lighter load and keep up with the camel caravan. Some camels have been known to live for 50 years, though most are very old at 30,