E L E P H A N T. 



KlapfcaM. serviceable elephants, is seven feet and upwards, mea- 

 V^' suretl at the shoulder in the same manner as the height 



of hortet is ascertained. 

 I'runh 'fin, u, ( >st remarkable organ which the elephant 



MM*, ia his trunk or proboscis, formed )>y an elonga- 

 tion of the snout, and answering the purposes of a nose. 

 hi- Mimetimes right feet in length, of a conical form, 

 and competed of muscles entirely at the will of the 

 animal ; lie can move or bend it, contract, lengthen, 

 or twist it in any direction. The extremity of the 

 trunk terminates in a small protuberance, which stretch- 

 es out on the upper side, and possesses an astonishing de- 

 gree of feeling and power. By means of this linjrcr- 

 like protuberance, he can seize, wiih the greatest I'aci- 

 lity. the smallest object, lift a piece of money from tlie 

 ground, or untie the knots of ropes. Hy means of his 

 id) out and trunk, the elephant renders himself most ser- 

 viceable to man. Hy his trunk he can raise a considerable 

 weight, and by his snout he can move about pieces of 

 ordnance, and roll away casks. In a wild state, this 

 organ likewise answers the most important purposes. 

 With it he gathers his food, and puts it into his mouth, 

 draws up water to quench his thirst, or to sprinkle, 

 his body, and collects dust, which he throws over his 

 skin to keep off the musquitoes and flies that annoy 

 him. On all occasions he is most careful of his trunk, 

 and unless when tied and picketed he seldom uses it as 

 a means of offence. The males use their tusks for this 

 purpose, and the females endeavour, by falling upon 

 the tiger, to crush him by their weight. 



Mouth. The elephant has no cutting teeth in either jaw in 



front ; but he is furnished with most powerful grind- 

 trs, that enable him to bruise the vegetables on which 

 he feeds. These teeth, as in all herbivorous animals, 

 have an uneven surface ; but do not rise into points 

 as in animals which feed on flesh. The structure of 

 these grinders has excited much attention among ana- 

 tomists, and led to many important conclusions, which 

 it would be out "of place here to enumerate. Each 

 grinder is composed of a number of perpendicular la- 

 mini?, which may be considered as so many teeth, each 

 covered with a strong enamel, and joined to one ano- 

 ther by a bony substance of the same quality as ivory. 

 This last substance being much softer than the enamel, 

 wears away faster by the mastication of the food, so that 

 the enamel remains considerably higher, and, in this 

 manner, the surface of each grinder acquires a ribbed ap- 

 pearance as if originally formed with ridges. From very 

 accurate observations, which have been made on the 

 Asiatic elephant, it appears, that the first set of grind- 

 ers, or milk teeth, begin to cut the iaw eight or ten 

 days after birth, and the grinders of the upper jaw ap- 

 pear before those of the lower one. These milk grind- 

 ers are not shed, but are gradually worn away during 

 the time the second set are coming forward, and as 

 toon as the body of the grinder is nearly worn away, 

 the fangs begin to be absorbed. From the end of the 

 second to the beginning of the sixth year, the third set 

 come -gradually forward as the jaw lengthens, not only 

 t<> fill up this additional space, but also to supply the 

 place of the second tet, which are, during the same 

 period, gradually worn away, and have their fangs ab- 

 sorbed. From the beginning of the sixth to the end 

 of the ninth year, the fourth set of grinders come for- 

 ward, to supply the gradual waste of tin third set, In 

 this manner, to the end of life, the elephant obtains a 

 et of new teeth ai the old one* become unfit for the 

 mastication of his food a wie provision of nature, 

 where the vast size of the carcase, to be maintained, 



8 



require increased exertions of the teeth in the pre- Blrphut 



jK'.ration of fond. **~~Y~^* 



The milk grinders consist each of four teeth, or la- 

 mina 1 ; the second set of grinders of eight or nine 

 lamina*; the third pel r IS; the fourth set of 



15, and so on to the 7th or 8th set, when each grind- 

 er consists of 22 or 23 ; and it may be added that 

 succeeding grinder takes at least a year more than its 

 predecessor to ! completed. 



The tusks of the elephant, which correspond with Tuskv 

 the canine teeth of other animals, are to him most 

 powerful instruments of defence, as, by means of them, 

 he can defend himself, or gore to death the objects of 

 his rage. They are two in number, situated one on 

 each side of the upper jaw. They vary in form and 

 size, according to the age, the sex, or the \ ariety of 

 the individual. In the female the tusks are very small 

 compared with those of the male. The tusks of die 

 male elephant vary in form and appearance. Those 

 called dauntflali, or elepliants with large teeth, vary .from 

 the projecting horizontal, but rather elevated curve of 

 the pulleydant or the perfect elephant, to the nearly 

 straight tusks of the mooknah, which point directly 

 downwards. Between these two there is a great va- 

 riety in the form of the tusks. The largest t.cth found 

 in the male elephant are from 5 to 8 feet in length, and 

 from 4 to 8 inches in diameter, and weigh from 20 to 

 80 Ib. each tooth. The increase of the tu.-k> arises from 

 circular layers of ivory, which are supplied internally 

 from the pulp on which they are formed. In some 

 instances, balls have been found in the body of thv 

 tusk with which the animal has been shot when young, 

 or, at least, the bolls must have entered near the base 

 of the tooth, as they are found imbedded in its hard 

 substance. The temporary, or milk tusks, drop in 

 twelve or sixteen months after birth, and are succeed* 

 ed by the permanent tusks, which continue growing 

 successively through life. 



The elephant seems naturally of a social disposition, Haunt*, 

 and is seldom to be met with alone. The herd, in ge- 

 neral, consists of from ten to a hundred of young and 

 old of both sexes. This herd is governed by an aged 

 male and female, and seems to be completely under 

 their direction. 



These herds reside in the extensive forests, which 

 they seldom leave, although the males sometimes make 

 predatory excursions to the outskirts in search of more 

 palatable food. Their haunts are seldom at a great dis- 

 tance from a spring of water, or from a river. They 

 avoid the margins of muddy rivers with the greatest 

 care, lest their unwieldy bodies should stick fast in the 

 iitue ; and over the large and deep rivers they swim with 

 readiness, to the distance of one or two mile*. Their 

 bodies and even heads sink under the water ; but, by 

 means of their trunks, which they keep above the t.ur. 

 face, they are able to respire, to direct their couiv 

 avoid running foul of one another, anil to know, by the 

 smell, the approach of the opposite there. In sultry 

 weather they frequently squirt water over their bodies, 

 by means of their trunk, and seem equally to avoid the 

 extremes of heat and cold. 



When we take into consideration tin- M/.r of thin ani p (XK ] < 

 mal, we need not be wjqiriwd at the quantity of food 

 said to be required for his support. A full grown ele- 

 phant is said to comume, each day, from 100 to 150 

 ' weight of vegetable. In Inn wild state he 

 feeds on grass, shrubs, the leaves and young branches 

 of trews. When a herd of the animals approach the ha- 

 bitation* of men, and enter the fields and vineyards in 



