>icicntific basis, the management of elephants under disease must 

 remain somewhat empirical, and the man best acquainted with 

 the manners and habits of the animal will have the advantage. 

 " The diseases of elephants are little understood by Europeans ; 

 and a knowledge of their treatment, with few exceptions, is confined 

 to half a dozen or so old Jemadars in the service in the Commis- 

 sariat Department. Some of these men are acquainted with reme- 

 dies that will effectually cure the worst forms of disease elephants 

 are liable to, but the ingredients of the medicines in most instances 

 are very erpenslve. Their skill, therefore, is seldom tested, as 

 beyond a few annas per month, no allowance is made for medicines 

 to sick elephants." (Hood) The little that has been done in this 

 direction is eclipsed by the large amount of work that remains to 

 bo done. The patients are veiy valuable, and mostly belong to 

 the Government ; it tlieyefore is incumhent upon the authorities 

 to do their duty, and make arrangements for the scientific and, 

 systematic study of the diseases of the elephant. The infrequency 

 of remains of dead elephants in their native wilds has been 

 commented upon, and therefore it has been urged there should 

 bo no necessity for a separate study of elephant pathology, 

 It is probable that internal parasites prove troublesome to the 

 wild elephant, and that insects and other partial ectozoa torment 

 him ; nevertheless, the infrequency of disease in him is attribu* 

 table to the simplicity of his life-conditions. But we take ele- 

 phants from their native wilds, and submit them to conditions of 

 domestication without those hereditary adaptations to the domes- 

 ticated state which we find in most of our other beasts of burden ; 

 tha,t the effect of this is not a fearful mortality is due to theif 

 large size and great value, which to an extent protects them from 

 cruelty, and from being housed in ill-ventilated stables. It also 

 ensures a reasonable amount of attention being paid to them, 

 but, nevertheless, the death roll of captured elephants is high. 



There is an idea very prevalent that diseases of the elephant are 

 in most cases not detectable until the animal is about to die and 

 also that his disease-resisting power is small. As a matter of fact 

 the disease is not detected earlier because we are generally igno* 

 rant of the signs of deviation from health, we do not resort to exact 

 and nice means of diagnosis, and the management of elephants 

 is generally left entirely to natives. Certainly the domesticated 



