66 
VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
wards, and the long tail the remainder, thus dislodging any causes 
of irritation : besides which, the trunk, if it cannot reach far 
enough, has the power of blowing over the part whatever quan¬ 
tity it may have been able to suck up either of fluid, dust, or 
other material. 
I may here observe also that the elephant has the power 
of withdrawing fluid from his stomach, by inserting his trunk 
into his throat, viz. the anterior part of the pharynx, and, as it 
were, sucking it up. Fluid, also, by a similar insertion of the 
trunk, is projected or blown into the stomach. By the same 
process the cow feeds its young, and teaches it to feed itself. 
It might be supposed that, if the power of exerting the aerial 
force by the trunk were lost, the animal could no longer drink, 
but such is not the case, for in the instance of an elephant which 
came under my own observation, that had lost half its trunk 
by a round shot in action, the fluid was poured down its throat 
after the manner of administering a drench; and this the animal 
was quite capable of swallowing with facility. 
The extreme sensitiveness of the skin naturally induces the 
animal (while in a wild state) to cover the upper part of the body 
with dust, grass, leaves, &c., and the inferior parts- and extremi¬ 
ties with water or mud, which soon makes an artificial covering, 
and thus protects it from heat and other sources of irritation. 
From this we may learn how essential it is, in a domesticated 
state, always to have a covering over the animals, and to picket 
them, whenever practicable, under the shelter of trees. Hence, 
doubtless, is the origin of the custom of repeatedly anointing the 
top of the head and forehead with some vegetable oil, as this 
keeps the hide cool and moist, and alike prevents blisters from 
excessive heat of the sun, and cracking of the cuticle in extreme 
frost and cold. The tail and upper part of the ears equally 
require this attention. 
Male elephants are of two classes, the Tusker and the Mukhna. 
The Tusker is furnished with two long tusks, projecting for¬ 
wards from the antero-lateral parts of the face, and taking origin 
from two large alveoli. 
From their roots to the point of their projection from the 
anterior maxillary bones the tusks are hollow, the cavity being 
filled with the tooth pulp or a marrow-like substance, which 
affords nutriment for the growth of the tusk. As the tusks increase 
in bulk, so do the cavities in which they are developed expand 
and grow larger. 
The Mukhna is a male with stunted or otherwise deformed 
tusks. He is sometimes entirely devoid of the cavities above 
referred to. 
In this case the nutriment, which would otherwise be fur- 
