or 125 lbs. dry. He considers the Bengal allowance sufficient if 

 the grass be good, but that at least 800 lbs. of frontier coarse 

 grass should be given. He argues against the use of grain ration 

 which is the most expensive article of food and (he considers) is 

 not necessary for : — (1) When -wild elephants have none; (2) Nor 

 when under native owners, although they are severely worked ; 

 (3) Cooked food is unnatural and the nutritive value of rice ia 

 doubtful; (4) Most of the grain is appropriated by the atten- 

 dants who systematically pilfer. He surely would not argue that 

 wo grain is required ! When wild the elephant gets grain in husk 

 and growing ; also nutritious roots and bulbs such as contain 

 much starchy material. The statement that rice is of doubtful 

 nutritive value is no longer in force, for recent experiments have' 

 shown that rice gives the best nutritive result with the least expen-. 

 diture of vital energy on digestion. The refinement of cooking the 

 ratib is certainly superfluous, but we must hesitate before introduc- 

 ing any innovation on systems which have answered for a long 

 time. Possibly the firewood for cooking is a Mahout's perqui.site, 

 like many of the ingredients of mussauls and much of the rice 

 ratib. Many mahouts reckon on keeping a large family of 

 several generations out of pickings from the Sahib's or Sirkar's 

 elephant. Any reduction in allowances (indirect) thus given to 

 these men will arouse the conservative tendencies . of these 

 natives and unless the strictest supervision be exercised the 

 elephant will shortly be found starving. At present few get more 

 ' than the bare necessaries of life. Ghee (clarified butter), half a 

 pound, or else jaggery (coarse sugar), one pound, used to be com- 

 monly given in the ratib. They are valuable nutritives, but, it is 

 to be feared, generally pro\-ed so to the attendants rather than 

 to the elephants. 



Tamarind is sometimes added to the Ratib but is said not to 

 be good in the cold weather. Its laxative properties are valuable 

 during the hot season. 



The spice balls known as Mussauls are given once a week. They 

 consist of various aromatic vegetable substances such, as cayenne 

 pepper, assafcetida, ginger, garlic, caraway, &c., all peculiarly 

 agreeable to the native interior economy and liiuch appreciated as 

 curry stuS. If these be given in full amount under intelligent 

 supervision, they are very useful — promoting the digestive func- 



