226 IVORY AND THE ELEPHANT 



In another of these diseased tusks there was a hollow 

 space from a quarter inch to over an inch in diameter, 

 running through the entire mass. Only two thirds of the 

 tusk was sound, but a good judge of these abnormal con- 

 ditions would be able to make a fairly accurate estimate of 

 the extent of the loss of good material. Great loss of mate- 

 rial may also result from the frantic attempts of an ele- 

 phant to alleviate the acute pain caused by ulceration of 

 the tusk by violent rubbing of it, and some of these ulcerated 

 tusks have suffered so much from this abrasion that a great 

 part has been rubbed away. 



The following analyses of bone, dentine, and ivory are 

 given by Mons. Adolphe Carnot :* 



I Human thigh bone. 



II Thigh bone of an ox. 



III Bone of the modern manatee or sea cow. 



IV Thigh bone of a Siamese elephant. 

 V Tooth of an elephant (dentine). 



VI Tusk of an elephant (ivory). 



I II III IV V VI 



Phosphate of lime . . 87.45 85.72 81.82 90.03 86.67 82.08 



Phosphate of magnesia 1.57 1.53 2.62 1.96 3.82 15.72 



Fluoride of lime . . .35 .45 .63 .47 .43 .20 



Chloride of lime . . .23 .30 .36 .20 .39 trace 



Carbonate of lime . . 10.18 11.96 14.25 .7.27 8.60 2.04 



Ferrous oxide ... .10 .13 .15 .15 .20 .08 



99.88 100.09 99.83 100.08 100.11 100.12 



This shows us that there is a very considerably larger 

 percentage of phosphate of magnesia and a notably smaller 

 percentage of carbonate of lime present in ivory than in 

 bones and dentine. We may note here that elephant ivory 



*Comptes Rendus de I'Academie des Sciences, Vol. CXIV, p. 1189: "Recherches du 

 fluor dans les os fossiles." 



