74 
A TREATISE ON ELEPHANTS. 
posterior borders and tip, extending much higher up on the anterior, 
where they are usually longer. Young elephants usually have much 
more hair about them than adults. 
(2) Nails — Are horny in appearance of a yellowish horn colour, 
smooth and when clean glossy. They contribute towards the for- 
mation of the foot-pad ; they are firmly embedded, not tender, and 
there is usually a slight moist exudation of an oily character around 
the tops readily discovered by throwing a little dust over that 
region ; they should not readily split or break. 
(3) Sweat glands. — Small glands are situated in the skin, 
whose function it is to secrete sweat, which by evaporation assists 
in regulating the temperature of the body. This secretion, however, 
is slight and best seen after removal of pack-gear. 
(4) Nerves. — These terminate in special organs in the skin, 
by whose agency the animal is able to appreciate various sensations, 
such as touch, cold, heat, and pain. 
Any departures from the above may point to disease, namely — 
[a) Hairs may be unduly soft, easily removed, or are often 
shed, especially those of the tail. In cases of deaths 
from supposed snake-bite the Burmans employ as a 
test the pulling out of hairs and affirm that if they are 
easily removed the case is undoubtedly one of 
snake-bite. 
{b) Nails may be soft, cracked or broken, overgrown, rough 
or rugged, and an excessive discharge may be seen 
around or beneath them. 
(<;) In parts there may be local tenderness. 
id) Scurfiness, harshness and unusual dryness. 
(e) Temperature may be uneven or variable. 
(/) Cracks, sores or eruptions. 
(^) Swellings, which may be localized^ such as in abscesses, 
or diffused as in dropsies, when the skin is distended, 
shown by a partial or complete effacement of the 
wrinkles, and doughiness. 
(//) Parasites, as ticks, lice, etc. 
Mucous Membrane 
Is a delicate membrane lining those inner parts of the body 
which are in direct communication with the external air, namely — 
{^a) From the nostrils to the minute ramifications of the lungs. 
[b) The whole alimentary tract from the mouth to the anus. 
[c) From the penis or vagina to the bladder. 
