OR, PLAIN 



The Indian tapir exceeds the American in 

 size : it has no mane, and the snout is longer 

 and more proboscis-like. The most striking 

 external difference between the eastern and 

 western animal, however, is in colour. Instead 

 of being of the uniform dusky-bay tint of the 

 American, the Indian tapir is strangely parti- 

 coloured. The head, neck, fore-limbs, and fore- 

 quarters are quite black : the body then becomes 

 suddenly white or greyish-white, and so conti- 

 nues to about half way over the hind-quarters, 

 when the black again commences abruptly, and 

 is spread over the legs. The abruptness and 

 contrast of the marking of this animal makes it 

 look precisely as if it were covered round the 

 body with a white horse-cloth, leaving the fore 

 and hind-quarters exposed. The young, until 

 the age of four months, are black, beautifully 

 marked with spots and stripes of fawn colour 

 above, and white below.* 



The elephant, 1, is the largest 

 of all living animals, and although 

 prodigiously strong, is remarkable 

 for docility. Contrasting the 

 head of the elephant with those 

 of the hippopotamus, 522, and the 

 tapir, 523, we first notice the 

 largeness of the ears, 2 ; we notice 

 that the tusks, which, in the 

 hippopotamus, 522, spring from 

 the lower jaw, in the elephant 

 project from the upper jaw, 3. 



The stature of the body j of the 

 elephant is considerably higher 

 than that of either the tapir or 

 the hippopotamus ; but the trunk, 



• Kuighf a Museum of Animated Nature. 



TEACHING. 183 



4, supplies to the elephant a 

 means of communication with its 

 food; while the large mouth of 

 the hippopotamus enables it to 

 gather the vast amount of vege 

 table matter necessary to sustain 

 its gigantic system. 



The elephant is unable to 

 endure immersion in water, like 

 the tapir or the hippopotamus, but 

 it fills its large trunk, 4, and pro- 

 jects the water over its body, 

 greatly enjoying this method of 

 ablution. 



The trunk of the elephant is 

 wonderfully formed. It is com- 



526. 



posed of countless cartilaginous 

 rings, and consists of a sort of 

 double tube. At its end there is a 

 Jinger-like appendage, 5, which the 

 animal uses as an instrument of 

 touch, and to take hold of small 

 substances, while larger ones are 

 seized by a curl of the extremity 

 of the trunk, 6. When it has 



527. 



obtained food in this manner, the 

 trunk is raised and bent, and the 

 extremity thrust into the mouth. 

 In this * way the trunk answers all 

 the purposes of a hand ; but the 

 animal also breathes and drinki 



