FEEDING NATURAL FODDER. 
19 
admirably), their duty is done, and it is a matter of little con- 
sequence to them how much or how little the animals may eat. 
These men, owing to the fact that it is easier to lop off branches 
than to collect good grass, are fond of reporting that there is no 
good grass near camp. Every means must be taken to ascertain 
the truth of such statements, as though grass may not be plentiful 
in the immediate vicinity, it may be abundant only a short distance 
away. The elephant is far too much in the hands of his mahout, 
receives insufficient supervision, and I venture to state that, were 
more consideration given to the above remarks, more work could be 
exacted, better health maintained, and there would be less need 
to refer to the subsequent pages. The other varieties of food 
which elephants consume in their natural state are numerous, 
such as leaves, bark of trees, palms, canes, creepers, fruits, etc. ; 
even could we ascertain what they all were, it is most unlikely 
that they could be procured in great abundance for use in the 
depots. Branches of certain trees may be given to augment or 
vary the ordinary grass fodder, and may on emergency replace it. 
Of those readily procurable may be mentioned the peepul, banian, 
and other varieties of the jicus (which genus is well represented 
in Burma), the sindong-ma-nwe (Tinospora midt flora), jack tree, 
young shoots and feathering tops of a great variety of bamboo, 
palms, paddy, millet and maize straws, all kinds of grain (growing 
or dry), sugarcane, plantain leaves and stems, fruits such as pine- 
apples, plantains, melons, bael, jack, palmyra, cocoanuts, yingan and 
other jungle fruits are all much appreciated. Whenever circum- 
stances permit of elephants being set free to graze and choose their 
own fodder, the opportunity should not be neglected ; nothing is 
more conducive to their health ; so much so, that enfeebled and 
diseased animals will more often recover by this practice than by 
any other treatment. 
Other varieties of green fodder mav be used, such as — 
Kussullut ... c^6s ... Kaing. 
Rakhshee, Ghond... oo5coo ... Wet-la. 
Ghut (Eleusine) ... 008^(^06 ... Sin-gno-myet. 
Nagar Mootha ... go6o^soo5g ... Myet-thon-tin-gwa. 
Null ... cx^|[o6 ... Kyu-bin. 
Peepul p.^^^ ( . . . c^dS? . . . Nyaung-ni. 
Goolar J 1 ... ooo^so^js ... Tha-hpan-thi. 
Banss, Bamboo ... olsg[o6 ... Wa-ywet. 
Kuss, Kusa ... Qo6oo6oc^§? ... Myet-thin-d8n. 
Tarra ... ^Q^g ... Gon-min. 
Dhull ... cooD^oSccjjD ... Taw-hnget-pyaw. 
