Lesson IV.—The Elephant.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 193, 5 March 1887, Page 7

Lesson IV.— The Elephant.

The elephant is a four footed quadruped* large for his dimensions. In fact, be is the) greatest beast; known. To be more accurate he averages about the siza of an ordinary three-story house, as any circus poster will show. His ekin is wrinkled to allow for contraction by the cold, and ia so thick that a ten-inch gun makes no impression on it. In his native country it is sawn up into planks and u?ed to construct bridges. Thej moet wonderful thing about the elephant, however, is his trunk To this he has eo close an attachment that he is never seen without it, and it is the only kind that utterly defies the baggage-emasher. With it he cm pick up^ a pin or delay a railroad train. He is the moafi sagacious of all animals, and can be taught to do the chores, build rail fences— driving all the nails— put children to bed, milk the cows, and carry trunks other than his own to the station. la India, in the rainy season, he ia employed to wash windows and sprinkle the roads by taking up the water in hia trunk. Male elephants are> also u?ei to carry and bring letters to and from the Post Office. In captivity hia food consists chiefly of peanuts and cookies.