STRUCTURE OF THE ELEPHANT. 735 
African Elephant the head is much shorter, the forehead convex, and the ears of enormous 
magnitude, nearly meeting on the back of the head, and hanging with their tips below the 
neck, 
The molar teeth also afford excellent indications of the country to which their 
owner has belonged, for the enamel upon the surface of the teeth of the Asiatic Elephant 
is moulded into a number of narrow bands like folded ribands, while that of the African 
species is formed into five or six diamond or lozenge shaped folds. Indeed, each molar 
tooth seems to be composed of a number of flat, broad teeth, which are fastened closely 
together, so as to form a single large mass. Only a portion of each tooth is externally 
visible, the remainder being hidden in the jaw, and moving forward as the exposed portion 
is worn away. When the whole tooth is thus worn out, it falls from the jaw, and its place 
is taken by another which has been forming behind it. In this manner the Elephant 
sheds its molar teeth six or seven times in the course of its life. The tusks, however, are 
permanent, and are retained during the whole of the animal’s existence. There are a pair 
of small “milk-tusks” when the Elephant is in its childhood, but these are soon shed 
and replaced by the true tusks. In the Indian Elephant only the males are furnished 
with tusks, and not every individual of that sex, whereas in the African species both sexes 
are supplied with these valuable appendages, those of the male being much larger and 
heavier than those of his mate. 
The Elephant, whether Asiatic or African, always lives in herds, varying greatly in 
numbers, and being always found in the deepest forests, or in their near vicinity. Both 
species are fond of ‘water, and are never found at any great distance from some stream or 
fountain, although they can and do make tolerably ‘ong journeys for the purpose of 
obtaining the needful supply of liquid. They have a curious capability of laying up a 
store of water in their interior, somewhat after the fashion of the camel, but possess the 
strange accomplishment of drawing the liquid supply from their stomachs by means of 
their trunks, and scattering it in a shower over their backs in order to cool their heated 
bodies. When drinking, the Elephant inserts the tip of his trunk into the stream, fills 
its cavities with water, and then, turning his trunk so as to get the extremity well into his 
throat, he discharges its contents fairly into his stomach, where it may be heard to splash 
by any one who is in near proximity to the animal, 
The strangest portion of the Elephant’s form is the trunk, or proboscis. This wonderful 
appendage is in fact a development of the upper lips and the nose, and is perforated 
through its entire length by the nostrils, and is furnished at its extremity with a kind 
of finger-like appendage, which enables the animal to pluck a single blade of grass, or to 
pick a minute object from the ground. The value of the proboscis to the Elephant is 
incredible ; without its aid the creature would soon starve. The short, thick neck would 
prevent it from stooping to graze, while the projecting tusks would effectually hinder it 
from reaching any vegetables which micht grow at the level of its mouth. And as it 
would be unable to draw water into its mouth without the use of the trunk, thirst would 
in a very short time end its existence. 
As the trunk is required for so many purposes, it must needs be capable of extension, 
contraction, and of flexibility in every direction, as well as possessed of enormous strength. 
In order to effect these conditions, the trunk is composed of no less than fifty thousand 
distinct muscles, some of which run longitudinally along the axis of the proboscis, and 
others radiate from the centre to the circumference. When the trunk is at rest, its surface 
is covered with a series of thick, transverse wrinkles or corrugations, which become less 
distinct as this appendage is gradually stretched, and vanish entirely when it is extended 
to its full length. The little finger-like appendage at its tip is slightly different in shape 
in the two sexes. 
In order to support the enormous weight of the teeth, tusks, and proboscis, the head is 
required to be of very large dimensions, so as to afford support for the powerful muscles 
and tendons which are requisite for such a task. It is also needful that lightness should 
be combined with magnitude, and this double condition is very beautifully fulfilled. The 
skull of the Elephant, instead of being a mere bony shell round the brain, is enormously 
enlarged by the separation of its bony plates, the intervening space being filled with a 
