BATHING AND GROOMING. 
33 
floor beneath which can be swept as well as flushed, otherwise urine, 
etc., runs down between the boards, thus saturating the soil beneath. 
Several short stout posts with or without ring-bolts should be planted 
firmly within and without for the purpose of tethering the animals. 
Quarters should also be provided for the attendants in connection 
with the sheds in order to remove any excuse for absence from 
their respective animals. 
Elephants are often kept in stations without their presence being 
turned to good account, and where facilities not only for obtaining 
their natural fodder and for bathing but natural shelter also fail. 
Much sickness, mortality, as well as current outlay would be done 
away with were the elephant depots to be moved to the nearest 
place which offered natural advantages for the keep of the animals. 
Some localities have been observed to be very badly suited for the 
keep of elephants, in which nevertheless their services are required 
for sorting timber, etc. Such places will generally be found to be 
of a kind varying to the furthest extent from the conditions in which 
we meet with elephants in their natural state. Perhaps none are 
more objectionable than the daily inundated tidal marsh lands, where 
the sheds are situated on patches of ground which barely escape 
inundation. 
In selecting camping-grounds it is essential that the ground be 
sloping ; the elephants should face with heads uphill, otherwise if 
they lie down they might experience much difficulty in rising ; care 
should also be taken to see that the standings are not on uneven 
ground, and that they are free from stones and stumps. 
All dung, litter, etc., should be removed morning and evening to 
a considerable distance from any standing. 
Bathing and Grooming. 
Bathing is one of the natural functions of the elephant, and 
most important to his health. In the wild state the animals pay 
daily visits to the deep cool pools in hill streams, and even the 
large rivers, and immerse their bodies, lashing the water about 
them, or squirting it over themselves. Inactive as the exhalatory 
functions of the skin appear to be, dirt speedily produces much 
irritation, and continued want of a bath general indisposition. It 
is of advantage that the water be deep enough to admit of 
immersion of the whole body in the crouching position, if not other- 
wise. They should on no account be kept in places where facilities 
for bathing fail. They may when in health be taken into the 
water in the early morning, as they appear to possess no sense of 
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