104 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WA YS 
CHAP. 
into neighbouring districts over a large extent of 
country, and caused fearful ravages, but none of the 
deer tribe were attacked, the disease being confined 
specially to the genus Bos. There are interest¬ 
ing proofs of the specific poison of certain maladies 
which are limited in their action to a particular class 
of animal. We find the same in vegetable diseases, 
where a peculiar insect will attack a distinct family 
of plants, or where a special variety of fungoid 
growth exerts a similar baneful influence. 
Wounded elephants have a marvellous power of 
recovery when in their wild state, although they have 
no gift of surgical knowledge, their simple system 
being confined to plastering their wounds with mud, 
or blowing dust upon the surface. Dust and mud 
comprise the entire pharmacopoeia of the elephant, 
and this is applied upon the most trivial as well as 
upon the most serious occasion. If an elephant has 
a very slight sore back, it will quickly point out the 
tender part by blowing dust with its trunk upon the 
spot which it cannot reach. Should the mahout 
have seriously punished the crown with the cruel 
driving-hook, the elephant applies dust at the earliest 
opportunity. I have seen them, when in a tank, 
plaster up a bullet-wound with mud taken from 
the bottom. This application is beneficial in pro¬ 
tecting the wound from the attack of flies. The 
effect of these disgusting insects is quite shocking 
when an unfortunate animal becomes fly-blown, and 
is literally consumed by maggots. An elephant 
possesses a wonderful superiority over all other 
