astringent Catechu), some from the succulent roots, and several
varieties from the wood, which is eaten like the sugar-cane. There is
one kind of tree the wood of which alone is eaten after the rind has
been carefully stripped off.

The elephant, being in its wild state a nocturnal animal, must be able
to distinguish the various qualities of trees by the senses of smell and
touch, as in the darkness of a forest during night it would be
impossible to distinguish the leaves. There are few creatures who
possess so delicate a sense of smell; wild elephants will wind an enemy
at a distance of a thousand yards, or even more, should the breeze be
favourable. The nerves of the trunk are peculiarly sensitive, and
although the skin is thick, the smallest substance can be discovered,
and picked up by the tiny proboscis at the extremity.

A wound upon any portion of the trunk must occasion intense pain, and
the animal instinctively coils the lower portion beneath its chest when
attacked by a tiger. This delicacy of nerve renders the elephant
exceedingly timid after being wounded, and it is a common and
regrettable occurrence that an elephant which has been an excellent
shikar animal before it has been injured, becomes useless to face a
tiger after it has been badly clawed. I cannot understand the
carelessness of an owner who thus permits a good elephant to work
unprotected. In ancient days the elephants were armoured for warlike
purposes to protect them from spears and javelins, and nothing can be
easier than to arrange an elastic protective hood, which would
effectually safeguard the trunk and head from the attack of any animal.

I had an excellent hood arranged for a large tusker which was lent to me
by the Commissariat. The first layer of material was the soft but thick