484 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



equal to the task of giving origin to muscles of power sufficient for 

 the animal's movements, but which may also adequately support the 

 great "tusks." And Nature has succeeded accordingly, by a most in- 

 teresting modification, in uniting size and strength to a minimum of 

 weight. 



A very short but strong neck and powerful bony processes borne 

 on the joints thereof serve as support and holdfasts respectively for 

 the huge cranium. In other parts of the skeleton, such as in the shape 

 and form of the shoulder-blade, the elephants resemble the rodent 

 quadrupeds, such as the hares, rabbits, rats, beavers, etc. ; and it has 

 long been a notable fact of elephantine anatomy that this resemblance 

 is by no means limited even to the bones. But a somewhat ludicrous 

 peculiarity of the elephants, readily noted by the observer, and one 

 referred to by both classic and modern poets, is their awkward gait ; 

 and this again -depends upon a readily understood anatomical modifi- 

 cation. It is such a peculiarity that is referred to in " Troilus and 

 Cressida," in the lines 



" The elephant hath joints, but none for courtesy, 

 His legs are legs for necessity, not for flexure." 



And again the phrase 



" I hope you are no elephant, you have joints," 



evidently refers to the curious and ungainly movements of these quad- 

 rupeds. The explanation of the elephantine gait rests primarily with 

 the length of the thigh-bone, and with the facts that this bone is very 

 long and lies perpendicularly to the line or axis of the spine, the thigh 

 not forming an acute angle with the spine, as in other quadrupeds. 

 Thus, the "ham" of the animal stretches half-way down the thigh, 

 and, when the animal walks, the bend of the knee or leg at the latter 

 point imparts a decided clumsiness to the gait. The great body rests, 

 not so much upon the toes as upon the great pads which unite the toes, 

 and which in fact constitute a broad, flat sole behind these members. 

 Similar pads in the rhinoceros and hippopotamus support the weight 

 of the body. No collar-bones are developed in the elephant race a 

 fact which, of course, bears a relation to the absence of those move- 

 ments, such as climbing, etc., in which these bones play an important 

 part, as serving to fix the limb employed. The brain of the elephant 

 reveals certain points of anatomical interest. For example, the lesser 

 brain or " cerebellum " is not covered by the brain proper or " cere- 

 brum " ; but the surface of the latter is deeply convoluted or folded. 

 The existence of deep brain-convolutions in man is believed to be asso- 

 ciated with a high measure of intellectual power, and the elephants do 

 not seem to belie the statement, as applied to lower life, when their 

 sagacity is taken into consideration. The proportion borne by the 

 weight of the brain to that of the body has always formed an inter- 

 esting topic of physiological nature. As a matter of fact, great varia- 



