4 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS 
CHAP. 
detrition assume a trefoil shape ; four incisors above 
and below, those of the upper jaw being short, 
conical, and recurved, the inferior prolonged, 
cylindrical, pointed, and horizontally projecting; a 
canine tooth on each side above and below, 
the upper straight, the lower very large and 
recurved, those of the two jaws rubbing against 
each other.” 
The tusks exactly resemble, on an enormous 
scale, those of the wild boar, and the lower tusks 
are sharpened in the same manner, by attrition 
against the upper. The enamel upon the surface 
of the two defensive tusks is extremely thick and 
hard : the amount of silica in its composition is so 
great, that, in cutting out the tooth with an axe, 
showers of sparks are occasionally produced, when 
the steel strikes the tusk obliquely. 
The front teeth of both jaws appear to be 
specially , arranged as scarifiers for raking and 
tearing out roots of aquatic plants, or for gathering 
tangled grasses from the river’s bank. Although 
the skull is of prodigious size, the brain is very 
small, in no case exceeding the size of a man’s fist. 
The eyes are large, and are surmounted by a 
projecting arch of bone, which is a peculiar feature ; 
the ears are small, and the animal has a habit of 
shaking them with great rapidity, to rid them of 
water when it first emerges upon the surface. The 
tail is exceedingly short, and is fiat upon the sides ; 
this can be of no service practically, as it is too 
small to act as a rudder when swimming, and 
