258 
PLINY's KATUEAL HISTOET. 
[Book VIII. 
to no other kind of disease.^^ I find it stated, that on making 
thein drink oil, any weapons which may happen to stick in their 
body will fall out ; while, on the contrary, perspiration makes 
th'em the more readily adhere.^^ If they eat earth it is poison 
to them, unless indeed they have gradually become accustomed 
by repeatedly doing so. They also devour stones as well; but the 
trunks of trees are their most favourite food. They throw down, 
with a blow from their forehead, palms of exceeding height, 
and when lying on the ground, strip them of their fruit. They 
eat with the mouth, but they breathe, drink, and smell with 
[the proboscis], which is not unaptly termed their hand.'^ 
They have the greatest aversion to the mouse of all animals,^^ 
and quite loathe their food, as it lies in the manger, if they 
perceive that it has been touched by one of those animals. 
They experience the greatest torture if they happen to swallow, 
while drinking, a horseleech, an animal which people are be- 
ginning, I find, to call almost universally a blood-sucker.*'^^ 
The leech fastens upon the wind-pipe, and produces intolerable 
pain. 
The skin of the back is extremely hard, that of the belly is 
softer. They are not covered with any kind of bristles, nor yet 
does the tail even furnish them with any protection from the 
annoyance of flies ; for vast as these animals are, they suffer 
greatly from them. Their skin is reticulated, and invites 
these insects by the odour it exhales. Accordingly, when a 
swarm of them has settled on the skin, while extended and 
smooth, the elephant suddenly contracts it ; and, in this way, 
^3 Olivier remarks, that this statement is incorrect. He dissected three 
elephants at Paris, and found that their death had been caused by inflam- 
mation of the lungs and chest. The species of elephant, which now inhabits 
Asia and Africa, is certainly not adapted to a cold climate ; but the nu- 
merous remains of elephants found in the north of Asia, prove that a 
species formerly existed, capable of enduring great cold. It is to be ob- 
served, that this species was covered with a thick, furry coat of wool and 
hair. — B. 
6^ This is from Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. viii. c. 26 ; but it is scarcely 
necessary to remark, that it is without foundation. JElian, Anim. Nat. 
B. ii. c. 18, refers to it, and explains it by supposing that the oil was not 
drunk, but applied externally ; which is less improbable. — B. 
6^ They suck the fluid into the cavity of the trunk, and bend the trunk 
into the mouth, where it is received and swallowed in the usual manner. — B. 
66 This dislike is confirmed by Cuvier. — B. 
" Sanguisuga." 
