YERTEBRATA. 



t | irV , n : j ;),,. refreshing coolness, or, wallowing in the soft mud of the morasses, acquire an ad- 



ditional protection againsl these, their mosl formidable, though tiny foes. Conscious of their own 



strength, thej feared no other enemies until the aggressions of man taught them his bu- 



ority; inoffensive and peaceful, they rarely use their gigantic powers of injury; but when 



irritated, they often exhibit a furious and revengeful ferocity. Eeavy and massive in their struc- 



their pillar-like limbs Beem ill-calculated for speed; yet, "their pace, when they have fairly 



i it. from the length of their stride, and the great propelling weight of their bodies, is 



i time very rapid, and bears before it all ordinary obstacles, clearing a way through the thick- 



md mosl matted underwood." 



In many of the species the canine or incisor teeth are developed into curved tusks, which in 

 some attain a monstrous size. The nose also is greatly lengthened, sometimes into a broad, flex- 

 ible muzzle, and sometimes into a long snout or trunk. The Elephants are the best examples of 

 both tie Be peculiarities of structure. It is probable thai this order contains the longest lived of 

 all the land animals; Mr. Bodgsoa informs us that the Indian Rhinoceros is believed to live for 

 a hundred years, and that one, taken mature, was kept at Katmandoo for thirty-five years with- 

 • exhibiting anj symptoms of approaching decline. It is the common opinion in India that 

 !. pliant Bometimes lives three centuries; this is improbable, though several now in the ser- 

 of the East India Company were old when they came into possession of the Europeans, up- 

 ward «>f ninety years ago. Most of the species, especially those of gigantic size, inhabit the con- 

 tinent and great islands "f Asia and the continent of Africa. Some, however, are peculiar to 

 America, and others have a very extensive range. 



The various species are divided into six families, as follows: the Elephantidee, Rhinoceridce, 

 Hippopotami, Tapiridce, Suedce, and Hi/racidce. 



THE ELEI'HAXTID^E OR PROBOSCIDiE. 



< >f this family there is a single genus, ELEPHANT, Elephas, the species of which are the 

 \iiisj,- quadrupeds. They are distinguished by having five toes to each foot, very com- 

 plete in the skeleton, but so enveloped by the callous skin which surrounds the foot that their 

 only external appearance consists in the nails attached to the extremity of this species of hoof. 

 Tin-, have no canines nor incisors, properly speaking; hut in the incisive or intermaxillary bones 

 are implanted two defensive tusks, which project from the mouth, and frequently attain enormous 

 dimensions. The magnitude of the sockets necessary to hold these tusks renders the upper jaw 

 bo high, and so shortens the hones of the nose, that the nostrils in the skeleton are placed near 

 tie- top of the face; but in the living animal they are prolonged into a cylindrical trunk, com- 

 posed of more than forty thousand small muscles variously interlaced, flexible in all directions, 

 endowed with exquisite sensibility, and terminated by an appendage like a finger. This trunk 

 imparts to the elephant as much address as the perfection of the hand does to the monkey. It 

 enables him to seize whatever he wishes to convey to his mouth, and to suck up the water he 

 is to drink, which, by the flexure of this admirable organ, is then poured into the throat, thus 

 Bupplying tin waul of a long neck, which could not have supported so large a head with its 

 heavy tusks. The trunk also is the organ of the voice, and through it the animal utters strong, 

 trumpet-like tones. "\\* i 1 1 1 i 1 1 the parietes of the cranium are several great cavities, which lender 

 tic head lighter; the lower jaw has no incisors whatever ; the intestines are very voluminous; 

 the stomach Bimple; ccecum enormous; the mamma), two in number, placed under the chest. 

 The young sink with the mouth and not with the trunk, as was asserted by Buffon. The period 

 •ion ia twenty months; the young at birth are three feet high; they are able immediately 

 *> follow their mother. There are only two species. 



The Asiatic Elephant, K. Indicus, differs from the African species, not only in its greater 



size and in the characters of the teeth and skull, but also in the comparative smallness of the ears, 



the paler brown color of the skin, and in having four nails on the hind-feet instead of three. The 



city of this species is also supposed to be greater than that of the African elephant. But 



though many wonderful stories are told, and some of them are as true as they are wonderful, of 



