VOL. LXXXIX.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 445 



experiments and observations, made since that period, on the natural history of the 

 elephant, will not, I hope, prove unworthy the attention of the k. s. 



The young of the elephant, at its birth, is about 35 inches high; and, as a 

 knowledge of its progressive growth forms the best criterion by which we can judge 

 of the age of this animal, I shall here note down some observations made on this 

 subject, till the elephant has attained its full size; for, after this period, till signs 

 of old age appear, I do not know any marks by which a tolerable guess can be 

 made of the number of its years, unless we could examine the teeth accurately; 

 and even then there would be much uncertainty. Very erroneous notions have 

 been entertained, with respect to the size of elephants, in different parts of India; 

 for which reason, I have collected such facts as were likely to ascertain their general 

 height. The following observations, of the gradual increase of growth, were 

 made on a young elephant of Mr. Stephen Harris, which was accurately measured 

 from time to time, and on a female elephant of my own, till I left Tiperah. 



Mr. Harris's elephant, at its birth, Oct. l6, 1789, was 35 inches high. In 1 

 year he grew 11 inches, and was 3 feet 10 inches high. In the 2d year he 

 grows 8 inches. In the 3d, (3. In the 4th, 5. In the 5th, 5. In the 6th, 34-. 

 In the 7th, 2-J-. And was then 6 feet 4 inches high. Except during his 4th and 

 5th years, this measurement shows a gradual decrease in the proportion of growth 

 for every year; and there was no opportunity of tracing the growth of this elephant 

 further than its 7th year. 



Another elephant, 6 feet Q inches high, at the time she came into my possession, 

 was supposed to be 14 years old; but as the accuracy of the hunters cannot be de- 

 pended on, it will be proper to take Mr. Harris's elephant, whose age is exactly 

 known, as a standard; and, judging from its annual increase, this will lead us to 

 consider the elephant, at the time I received her, to be only 11 years old; giving 

 a period of 4 years, for the addition of 5 inches. I have made a greater allowance 

 of time, on account of this elephant being a female, and Mr. Harris's a male, 

 which there is much reason to believe grows faster. During the next 5 years, 

 before she was covered, she grew only 6 inches; but, what is extremely curious, 

 while pregnant, she grew, in 21 months, 5 inches; and, in the following 17 

 months, though again pregnant, she grew only 4- an inch ; at which time, she was 

 sent from Comillah, as I was then preparing to leave India. At this time, she 

 was about 19 years old, and had perhaps attained her full growth. Her young one 

 was then (Nov. 17 96) not 20 months old; yet he was 4 feet 54- inches high, 

 having grown 18 inches since his birth; which is the greatest progressive growth 

 in the elephant that I have known. 



These observations, when applied to the general growth of elephants, are to be 

 taken with some allowance; since, during the state of the first pregnancy, there is 

 so great an irregularity in the growth of female elephants, as alone occasions con- 

 siderable difficulty, even supposing the progressive growth nearly equal in the 

 species. It is probable, however, that this is not by any means equal: for, as 



