386 



ZOOLOGY. 



gestation and the dimensions of the Indian elephant, which are of gen- 

 eral interest. 



Four of the elei)hants in the gardens of the Zoological Society of Lon- 

 don were weighed and measured by A, D. Bartlett,* the superintend- 

 ent of the society's gardens, and the following figures give the result: 



Jnng Pacha 

 SiiflfaCulli.. 



Omar 



Rustom 



Height at 

 shoulder. 



Ft. 

 7 

 6 

 6 

 6 



l7l. 







10 



2 







Circumference of 



the front foot 



above the toes. 



Ft. 

 3 



3 

 2 



In. 



2 

 11 



Weight. 



Tons. dot. Qrs. LI. 



2 3 23 



2 2 3 11 



1 7 15 



1 3 3 26 



The period of gestation has been recorded by two gentlemen. Colonel 

 Heysham, of the Madras Commissarial Staft",t and Mr. Arthur E. Brown, 

 superintendent of the gardens of the Zoological Society of Philadelphia.! 

 According to Colonel Heysham the period in the two cases noted was 

 nineteen months, and, according to Mr. Brown, the exact period was 629 

 days (from June 20, 1878, to March 10, 1880). The new-born elephant 

 weighed 213 pounds, and its height at the shoulder was 34^ inches and 

 the circumference of the fore feet 17 inches. " The young was u^) and 

 walking about very shortly after birth, has teeth in both jaws, and sucks 

 with the mouth. The mamma of the mother, when distended, projects 

 somewhat laterally, so that the trunk of the young one is thrown up, 

 and rests, when sucking, in the angle between the shoulder and tho- 

 rax." 



LIFE PEEIODS OF THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. § 



(Jbservations in several zoological gardens have furnished the basis 

 for some essential data in the life of the hij)popotamus. It takes about 

 five years for growth, although it may continue to increase in stout- 

 ness afterwards, and has been known to live nearly thirty years. The 

 sexual vigor of the male doubtless extends over at least twenty years, 

 and perhaps somewhat more. The period of gestation in the female 

 ranges ordinarily from 23G to 240 days, and in one instance birth en- 

 sued 227 days after intercourse with the male. 



* Sclater (P. L.). Report on the dimensions and weights of the Indian Elephants. 

 Proc. Zool. Soc, London, 1879, pp. 385-388. 



t Heysham. Extract from a letter addressed to the president, containing remarks 

 upon two cases of elephants breeding in captivity. Proc. Zool. Soc, London, 1880, 

 pp. 23-24. 



t Brown (Arthur E.). Letter from, relating to the birth of an elephant in a menag- 

 erie at Philadelphia. Proc. Zool. Soc, London, 1880, pp. 222-223. 



^ Owen (R.). On the Natural Form of Life and its chief periods in the Hippopota- 

 mus. Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., (5,) vol. iv, iip. 188-190. 



