444 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [aNNO 17QQ. 



so that each brain was invested, in the usual way, by its own proper coverings ; 

 bat the dura mater which covered the cerebrum of the upper brain, adhered firmly 

 to the dura mater of the lower brain : the 1 brains were therefore separate and 

 distinct, having a complete partition between them, formed by a union of the 

 durae matres. When the contents of the double skull were taken out, and this 

 union of the durae matres more particularly examined, a number of large arteries 

 and veins were seen passing through it, making a free communication between the 

 blood-vessels of the 2 brains. This is a fact of considerable importance, as it ex- 

 plains the mode in which the upper brain received its nourishment. Before these 

 observations were communicated by Mr. Dent, it was natural to suppose that the 

 1 brains had been united into ] mass ; as it was difficult to imagine in what way the 

 upper brain could be supplied with blood. 



V. Observations on the Manners, Habits, and Natural History, of the Elephant. 



By Jno. Corse, Esq. p. 31. 



Since the remotest ages, the elephant, on account of his size, his sagacity, and 

 his wonderful docility, has attracted the notice, and excjted the admiration, of 

 philosophers and naturalists, both ancient and modern: and few travellers into 

 Asia, or Africa, have omitted giving some account of him. A residence however 

 of more than 10 years, in Tiperah, a province of Bengal, situated at the eastern 

 extremity of the British dominions in Asia, where herds of elephants are taken 

 every season, afforded me frequent opportunities of observing, not only the 

 methods of taking them, but also the habits and manners of this noble animal. 

 From the year 1792 till 1797, the elephant hunters were entirely under my di- 

 rection; so that I had it in my power to institute such experiments as I thought 

 likely to discover any particulars, not formerly known, in the natural history of 

 the elephant. Soon after my arrival at Tiperah, while informing myself of the 

 methods of taking wild elephants, I had occasion to observe, that many errors, 

 relative to the habits and manners of that useful animal, had been stated in the 

 writings of European authors, and countenanced by some of the most approved 

 writers. 



The elephant has been declared to possess the sentiment of modesty in a high 

 degree; and, by some, his sagacity was supposed to excite feelings for the loss of 

 liberty, so acute, as to cause him to refuse to propagate his species while in slavery, 

 lest he should entail on his progeny a fate similar to his own; while others have 

 asserted, that he lost the power of procreation in the domestic state. So circum- 

 stanced, I was desirous of taking advantage of my situation, and of making such 

 experiments and observations, as might tend to render more perfect the natural 

 history of this useful animal. Early in the year 1789, I gave an account of the 

 methods then used for taking and training wild elephants, to the Asiatic Society in 

 Calcutta, which was published in vol. 3, of their researches; and the following 



