HABITS OF THE ELEPHANT. 263 



of the equator the elephants attain to a greater size 

 than to the southward ; and I am in the possession of 

 a pair of tusks of the African bull elephant, the larger 

 of which measures ten feet nine inches in length, and 

 weighs one hundred and seventy-three pounds. The 

 females, unlike Asiatic elephants in this respect, are 

 likewise provided with tusks. The price which the 

 largest ivory fetches in the English market is from 

 £28 to d£32 per hundred and twelve pounds. Old bull 

 elephants are found singly or in pairs, or consorting to- 

 gether in small herds, varying from six to twenty in- 

 dividuals. The younger bulls remain for many years 

 in the company of their mothers, and these are met to- 

 gether in large herds of from twenty to a hundred in- 

 dividuals. The food of the elephant consists of the 

 branches, leaves, and roots of trees, and also ofa variety 

 of bulbs, of the situation of which he is advised by his 

 exquisite sense of smell. . To obtain these he turns up 

 the ground with his tusks, and whole acres may be 

 seen thus plowed up. Elephants consume an immense 

 quantity of food, and pass the greater part of the day 

 and night in feeding. Like the whale in the ocean, the 

 elephant on Ismd is acquainted with, and roams over, 

 wide and extensive tracts. He is extremely particular 

 in always frequenting the freshest and most verdant 

 districts of the forest ; and when one district is parched 

 and barren, he will forsake it for years, and wander to 

 great distances in quest of better pasture. 



The elephant entertains an extraordinary horror of 

 man, and a child can put a hundred of them to flight 

 by passing at a quarter of a mile to windward ; and 

 when thus disturbed, they go a long way before they 

 halt. It is surprising how soon these sagacious animals 

 are aware of the presence of a hunter in their domains. 



