E 77 ] 



SECT. IV. 



Zoology. 



Non ad unam natura formam opus fuum praeftat ; 

 fed in ipfa varietate fe jadtat. 



Seneca Quaeft. 



f. TT would greatly tend to improve our 

 X knowledge in this department of natural 

 hiftory, were the following remarks refpecting 

 quadrupeds to be carefully made ; viz. the ge- 

 neral times of coupling, and of geftation ; how 

 many young are brought forth at a time, and 

 how often during one feafon at what period of 

 life they become prolific or barren ; where their 

 principal refort and dens are ; whether the males 

 aflift the dams in providing food for the young 

 of the carnivorous tribe \ how long thefe are 

 under the protection of the old ones j and what 

 age each fpecies attains. 



2. It might be enquired whether any perfon 

 hath ever leen elephants in copulation, which 

 has been hitherto denied ; it is faid that if the wild 

 elephants perceive any body, they immediately 

 begin to rave, and ceafe not till the curiofity 

 of that perfon has been rewarded with death ; 

 and though the Indian princes have kept great 

 numbers of tame elephants of both fexes, they 

 never could procure a breed from them. What 

 differences are there betwixt the African and 

 Indian elephants ? Is the ftruclure of the grind- 

 ing teeth equal or flat in all, or have fome 

 elevated or pointed crowns, fimilar to thofe of 

 carnivorous animals I Do elephants ever lhed 

 their tulks or teeth, or are they permanent ? 



3. How 



