PACHYDEKHATA 397 



General Hawkes afterwards supplied me with further infor- 

 mation. In a letter from Secunderabad, dated July 30th, 1875, 

 he says : " As regards the liver-fluke (F. Jacksoni), it appears 

 from your treatise to have been first observed in 1847. The 

 only other published notice that I have been able to find of it 

 is contained in a letter to a newspaper, dated ' Rangoon, 16th 

 July, 1867/ and is signed 'R. B.' In this letter the unusual 

 mortality of seven elephants in about fifteen days is attributed 

 to the presence of this liver-fluke, the two other parasites 

 (Amphistoma and Ascaris lonchoptera) being also present in the 

 intestines." " Now (continues General Hawkes), in every case 

 at which I was present flukes were found in greater or less 

 numbers in the gall-ducts of the liver, and the Amphistoma was 

 also as constantly present in the intestines, the soorti (Ascaris 

 lonchoptera), contrary to the general experience of the elephant 

 attendants, being less frequently met with, though from its 

 color and slender shape it is not so easily detected among the 

 huge mass of faeces as the larger Amphistoma." Speaking of 

 the amphistoma General Hawkes says: "This internal parasite 

 is well known to all who possess elephants. It is alluded to by 

 Dr Gilchrist in his treatise on the ' Diseases of Elephants/ first 

 published in 1841, but he merely mentioned it under its local 

 name, masuri, and made no attempt either to describe it scien- 

 tifically or to ascertain its place in the natural system. As far 

 as my experience goes it is only found in the intestines. These 

 parasites appear to be very generally present in the elephant. 

 When their numbers are few the ''host'' is probably not much 

 inconvenienced, but when present in any great quantity they 

 undoubtedly cause much irritation. When this is felt, the 

 animal, as before remarked, instinctively resorts to a simple and 

 effectual remedy. He eats a quantity of earth, which purges 

 him thoroughly and expels the amphistoma. The mahawats 

 are of opinion that whilst the elephant is eating earth to relieve 

 himself of the pests the daily allowance of rice should be 

 scrupulously withheld ; and they say that if the rice, which is 

 given uncooked, is eaten by the animal under these circum- 

 stances, excessive purgation is induced, which frequently results 

 in death. How far this opinion is founded on fact I am unable 

 to say, but the mahawat's name for this disease means ' fast- 

 ing/ and bears testimony to the generally received notion of 

 the necessity of withholding the rice when the animal is eating 

 earth." 



