200 THE VITAL FUNCTIONS. 



them. The quantity of water thrown out, is in 

 proportion to the distance of the part attacked, 

 and is commonly half a pint at a time : and this 

 Mr. Pierard, who resided many years in India, 

 has known the elephant repeat eight or ten times 

 within the hour. The quantity of water at the 

 animal's command for this purpose, observes Sir 

 E. Home, cannot therefore be less than six 

 quarts. This Avater is not only ejected immedi- 

 ately after drinking, but six or eight hours after- 

 wards. Upon receiving this information, Sir E. 

 Home examined the structure of the stomach of 

 that animal, and found, in it a cavity, like that of 

 the camel, perfectly well adapted to afford this 

 occasional supply of water, which may, at other 

 times, be employed in moistening dry food for 

 the purposes of digestion.* 



In every series of animals belonging to other 

 classes, a correspondence may be traced, as has 

 been done in the Mammalia, between the nature 

 of their food and the conformation of their diges- 

 tive organs. The stomachs of birds, reptiles 

 and fishes, are, with certain modifications, 

 formed very much upon the models of those 

 already described, according as the food con- 

 sists of animal or of vegetable materials, or 

 presents more or less resistance from the co- 

 hesion of its texture. As it would be impos- 



* Supplement to Sir E. Home's Lectures on Comparative 



Anatomy, vol. vi. p. 9. 



