178 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XV. 



In addition to this, the elephants were taught various 

 tricks for the amusement of those who take pleasure 

 therein, viz., the raising of the trunk, kneeling on their 

 forelegs to all appearance of reverence, the parrying of blows 

 with the trunk and feet, and various other drolleries, 3 which 

 I shall not mention here ; and I begin now to duly carry out 

 my undertaking and give a clear and concise account of the 

 subject of this Paper. 



The coitus and propagation of these large animals take 

 place in the same way as other beasts, without any difference,. 

 January and February being the ordinary seasons when 

 they become " must," and they are seldom seen to come 

 together outside these months, although it sometimes 

 happens. 



• When the elephants are with young they L only get in milk 

 about the seventh month, and then their dugs drop a bit 

 and begin to increase in size ; and they begin to procreate 

 when they are fifteen to sixteen years old, not earlier, but, 

 if anything, later, when they are fully developed, never 

 getting more than one young at a time ; but how often an 

 elephant drops its young cannot be stated with any 

 certainty. 



It is indeed wonderful and hardly credible what little 

 milk elephants that have given birth to young give. For 

 although one would think that such great beasts would, as 

 compared with other animals, give a large quantity of milk 

 to rear their young, yet it is found that they scarcely give 

 out more than a canful at a time. It cannot therefore be 

 conceived how such beasts can be kept up and nourished 

 with such little nutriment. But it should be considered 

 that the milk of the elephant is very fatty and potent, 

 excelling in this respect that of all other known animals, as 

 has been found by experience, for otherwise the young 

 could not live and would necessarily die of hunger and 

 thirst, it being affirmed by many Sinhalese as the truth that 

 an elephant just born becomes quite strong and active in 

 three days on a little elephant's milk and honey given to lis 



