OF THE. CLASS MAMMALIA. 



243 



flexible' and ^ dexterous proboscis is a modification of the organ 

 well deserving notice. The proboscis of the elephant is, in 

 fact, an extension of .the nostrils, forming a double tube, and 

 fitted to perform the office of a hand and a nose. By it water 

 and food are conveyed to the mouth, and air to the lungs ; 

 a fibro-tendinous membrane lines it throughout, and to this 

 and to the forehead and integuments are attached thousands 

 of small muscles [or as some view the structure, of two layers of 



Fig. 204. -Elephant of Indii 

 K 2 



