PACHYDERMATA 395 



to be a doubtful form (' Proceed. Linn. Soc./ " Zoology," 

 vol. v, p. 9). These references exhausted the literature of the 

 subject up to the time of the issue of my ' Manual' in 1873, 

 where this fluke is again briefly noticed (p. 13). Several of 

 Prof. Huxley's specimens have been added to the entozoological 

 department of the Hunterian Museum. It is clear that all 

 these notices and descriptions point to the same parasite. The 

 worm has since been more carefully described by Dr E. H. Fitz, 

 from a series of dissections and preparations made by Dr H. P. 

 Quincy, and deposited in the Warren Museum, Boston, U.S. 



About the middle of June, 1875, I received a letter from 

 General Hawkes, of the Madras Staff Corps, dated Secunderabad, 

 May 12th, 1875, and in reference to the subject before us he 

 writes as follows : " My attention has been recently directed 

 to a very unusual mortality of elephants at this station. Out 

 of twenty-eight elephants under my charge, no less than twelve 

 have died within the last sixteen months, whereas the average 

 annual mortality has been hitherto only two per annum out of 

 thirty-eight in our establishment. In every case of death there 

 appeared to exist serious organic disease quite sufficient to 

 account for such death, but as the mortality increased I had a 

 post-mortem examination made in each case; and although 

 here also organic disease sufficient to account for death was 

 present in each case, yet in every one of these elephants we 

 found the liver-fluke in greater or less abundance." General 

 Hawkes adds : " Meanwhile I have sent you a small box con- 

 taining three bottles, one containing the liver-fluke (Fasciola 

 Jacksoni) referred to in your work on the parasites of domesti- 

 cated animals. It seems possible that the other two species of 

 parasites may not have been brought to your notice. Both of 

 these, namely, the " masuri " and the " soorti," are very common 

 in elephants. They are both found in the intestines only. The 

 "masuri," when present in any quantity, cause considerable 

 disturbance, and the animal instinctively resorts to the eating 

 of earthy which it consumes in large quantities until the bowels 

 are acted on and the worm expelled. The soorti is more 

 common than masuri, and does not seem to inconvenience the 

 animal very much. When expelled from the animal the soorti 

 is a round white worm, like most of the threadworms ; the 

 masuri, on the other hand, is of a delicate flesh color," 

 Shortly after the receipt of this letter I obtained the entozoa in 

 a good state of preservation. Accordingly I wrote to General 



