I I o 
A TREATISE ON ELEPHANTS. 
thus leading to this error as they are often impure or inert. To be 
on the safe side, I have been guided by the doses given by Steel, 
and as he employed drugs of known strength I would recommend 
others to do the same. I have however given the doses quoted by 
other authors and have also added many of their mussauls. Roughly 
speaking the doses of most drugs for elephants are about four times 
that given to cattle. Doses must be regulated according to age. 
young animals requiring much less. In tropical countries care must 
be taken not to give too strong doses of purgative medicines. The 
strength of blisters should also be modified. 
Preparation. — All drugs should be finely powdered in a mortar 
and mixed with spices, jaggery, honey, tamarind pulp, boiled rice, 
plantains, flour, ginger, cardamoms, pepper, black salt, garlic, onions, 
chillies, ghee, coriander seed, caraway seed, omum, mustard seeds, 
etc., to mask the taste as much as possible. Medicine is best given 
in the form of balls or pills about the size of a small orange, or less ; 
sometimes however they are incorporated in native bread. 
Administr atlon . — The administration of drugs is not always an 
easy matter : the mouth is very small and, to add to the difficulty, the 
back of the tongue is free. In order to render it easier to give 
medicine, it is an excellent plan to accustom an elephant to take 
small packets filled with paddy, rice, tamarind, sugar or sweets, 
flavoured with some spice. The packets are generally made of straw, 
grass, and at times a plantain leaf is used. Wheaten bread or native 
bread (chuppatees) should occasionally be given, in which a little salt, 
spice, garlic or onions, have been incorporated. An animal soon 
learns to appreciate these delicacies and will open his mouth when 
he sees the mahout bringing a packet, which he can place in the 
creature's mouth without trouble. By the means above mentioned 
animals are rendered unsuspicious, and drugs may be incorporated 
and often given without trouble. The usual method is first to give a 
couple of packets of rice or sugar, and in the following one to place 
rice at the bottom of the packet, then the pill which is covered over 
with more rice or tamarind, then secured and pushed into the mouth. 
Nauseous drugs are sometimes rejected. Balls or boluses are 
undoubtedly the most certain and convenient method of administering 
drugs to elephants. The taste of nauseous drugs can to some extent 
be masked — a very important matter. Waste is avoided. The dis- 
advantages are that it takes a long time for drugs to be dissolved 
sufficiently to be absorbed ; this is augmented when the stomach and 
bowels are in a disordered state. It is better to give drugs in small 
quantities in several balls of tamarind or sweetmeat than to put a 
larger quantity into one or two balls. The use of gelatine capsules 
in which sorne drugs could be placed might prove useful. 
