528 FOOD OF ELEPHANTS. 



breed by importation from the Portuguese. As the 

 Barotse cattle are an exception to this general rule, so are 

 the Barotse dogs, for they are large savage-looking 

 animals, though in reality very cowardly. It is a little 

 remarkable, that a decrease in size should occur where 

 food is the most abundant ; but tropical climates seem 

 unfavourable for the full development of either animals 

 or man. It is not from want of care in the breeding, for 

 the natives always choose the larger and stronger males 

 for stock, and the same arrangement prevails in nature, 

 for it is only by overcoming their weaker rivals, that the 

 wild males obtain possession of the herd. Invariably they 

 show the scars received in battle. The elephant we killed 

 yesterday had an umbilical hernia as large as a child's 

 head, probably caused by the charge of a rival. The cow 

 showed scars received from men ; two of the wounds in 

 her side were still unhealed, and there was an orifice six 

 inches long and open in her proboscis, and, as it was about 

 a foot from the point, it must have interfered with her 

 power of lifting water. 



In estimating the amount of food necessary for these 

 and other largje animals, sufficient attention has not been 

 paid to the kinds chosen. The elephant, for instance, is 

 a most dainty feeder, and particularly fond of certain 

 sweet-tasted trees and fruits. He chooses the mohonono, 

 the mimosa, and other trees which contain much sac- 

 charine matter, mucilage, and gum. He may be seen 

 putting his head to a lofty palmyra, and swaying it to 

 and fro to shake off the seeds ; he then picks them up 

 singly and eats them. Or he may be seen standing by 

 the masuka and other fruit trees, patiently picking off the 

 sweet fruits one by one. He also digs up bulbs and tubers, 

 but none of these are thoroughly digested. Bruce re- 

 marked upon the undigested bits of wood seen in their 

 droppings, and he must have observed, too, that neither 

 leaves nor seeds are changed, by passing through the 

 alimentary canal. The woody fibre of roots and branches 

 is dropped in the state of tow, the nutritious matter alone 

 having been extracted. This capability of removing all 

 the nourishment, and the selection of those kinds of food 

 which contain great quantities of mucilage and gum, 

 accounts for the fact that herds of elephants produce but 

 small effect upon the vegetation of a country — quality 

 being more requisite than quantity. The amount of 



