however, occurs only when they are being hunted, or when they are protecting their young. Their thick, pale chocolate-colored skin is rough and warty, and without hairs, except about the muzzle and at the end of the short tail. The young differ from the adults in being smaller, and paler, almost pink, in color. They ride about on the back of the mother, and are apparently ignored by the males. The hide of the Hippo is covered with a natural oil, which is poured out through pores in the skin, and appears to be for the purpose of preserving the animal from the injurious effects of too long continued immersion in the water. This oil is reddish, somewhat resembling blood, and oozes out in large droplets. It is this which has given rise to the false notion that the creature "sweats blood." And the "Blood Sweating Behemouth of Holy Writ" is a familiar sight to all lovers of the circus. Hippos are hunted for their hides, their flesh, and their fat. From the hides, which are from one and one-half to two inches thick, are made shields, helmets, whips, and canes; while the fat is used in various ways, and the flesh for food. The teeth, also, are valuable, furnishing an important part of the ivory of commerce. THE ELEPHANT The Elephant is the mightiest and most majestic of all the land animals, and one of the largest creatures that has ever lived on our earth. In fact it is surpassed in size today only by the great Blue Rorqual Whale, which often reaches a length of over 80 feet. There are two kinds, or species, of elephants; the African, which lives in the dense forests of Africa; and the Indian, inhabiting certain parts of India. The Indian elephant differs from its African brother in that it is not so large and its ears are smaller, its head longer, with a concave forehead. Its eyes, too are not so large, in most cases. The great ears of the African Elephant are always a source of wonder to small boys, as the great beast goes stalking by in the circus parade, for they hang down far below the neck, and are so large that a man may conceal himself behind one of them with ease. The tusks of the African elephant are much longer than those of the Indian species, and most of the ivory of the world is obtained from them. It is said that about one hundred thousand elephants are killed each year for their ivory, and yet they still exist in large numbers in spite of such terrible slaughter. The body of the elephant is somewhat stout and clumsy-looking, and is supported on strong, pillar-like legs. The usual height of the shoulder from the ground is from seven to twelve feet. The African elephant is the taller, and in each species the male is the larger animal. A full grown male often weighs as much as five tons! The tough brownish gray skin is like leather, very thick, and almost hairless. The usual color of the creature is a rather dirty brown. There is no such thing as a "white elephant" in nature. Sometimes an elephant will be covered with a coat of whitewash by some unscrupulous owner, and exhibited merely for the purpose of drawing money from the pockets of the unread, who eagerly crowd to see such a wonder. Sometimes an elephant will be found, of a light grayish color, with pink blotches about the head. Such an elephant is called a white elephant in Siam, and is looked upon with reverance. Its house is decorated with silken hangings; it is fed rare fruits from vessels of gold and silver; and when it goes out it is arrayed in silken trappings decorated with gold, silver, and precious stones, while a group of nobles shade its head with a canopy richly woven and supported by rods of gold. These white elephants are very rare, and are the result of the same cause that makes white mice and white rats, the cause being some bodily peculiarity which prevents the pigment, or coloring matter, from being deposited in the skin in its proper amounts. The skin of the elephant, in spite of its leatheriness, is very sensitive, and can detect the presence of small insects, it is said. Like the horse the elephant is provided with certain skin muscles, which enables it to quiver the skin, and shake off annoying flies, or dust. Nearly all of us have been to circuses and have fed peanuts to the elephant. Have you ever stopped to think what a wonderful organ the trunk is, and how well fitted to serve the animal in the kind of surroundings in which it lives. It is so strong that it can lift many hundreds of pounds' weight from the ground, or uproot a small tree, or tear down heavy branches, and yet so delicate withal that it can pick a single blade of grass, or take up a pin from a smooth floor. By means of the trunk the elephant reaches high into the trees and conveys food to the mouth, or water from a stream, or squirts it over its head and body when hot and dusty. The trunk is formed partly from the nose and partly from the upper lip, and contains no fewer than 50,000 muscles, which enables it to be stretched, contracted, and turned in every direction. The trunk takes the place of a long neck. And the elephant could never develop a neck strong enough to support the weight of his huge head and heavy tusks. The trunk serves not only as a means of securing food and drink for the animal, but also as a trumpet, for it is through this organ that the elephant emits a loud call, and likewise as a weapon of defense in fighting. And lastly, it is used for a purpose for which all noses are used, to smell with. The tusks are the greatly overgrown incisor, or "front teeth" and are used as weapons in fighting, as well as to tear up the soil in search of roots. In the male they are especially large, the largest pair on record weighing about 450 pounds. Normally they do not weigh much more than 200 pounds. As a rule the bull with the longest and sharpest tusks rules the herd. The elephant is a social animal, and lives in companies, old and young together, ruled by the most powerful male. Sometimes these male rulers, or bulls, get too tyrannical and are driven away from the herd. They then become very dangerous to man, and are known as rogue elephants. Elephants have small, but very sharp eyes. Their sense of hearing is also acute, and their sense of smell very keen. They can often detect the presence of an enemy by his odor at a distance of 1,000 yards. The food of the elephant consists chiefly of the tender shoots of trees, roots, barks, as well as grasses, bamboo, sugar cane, and reeds. Besides these it will take cultivated crops, and all sorts of soft and herbaceous plants. When not sleeping it is usually eating, and consumes enormous quantities of food. One elephant will stow away over 600 pounds of fodder per day. How many bales of hay, at this rate, would it take to feed a circus elephant for one year? Figure it out and see how surprised you will be A herd of elephants soon exhausts the supply of food in one locality and then moves on to another. When on the march they go in single file, like Indians, and move at a rapid pace, usually about fifteen miles an hour. It takes thirty years for an elephant to reach its full growth, and it frequently lives to be over 150 years old. The Indian elephant has become the valued servant of man, in war carrying ammunition and men, and in peace helping to transport and pile heavy lumber, or to build brick and stone walls. He is also used in parades of the royalty or of the nobles in his native land, and in circuses and menageries in other countries. The African elephant, on the contrary, is not so amenable to kindly treatment. It is fiercer, and wilder, and seldom captured for use alive. Formerly elephants were killed by the natives by poisoned arrows, or entrapped in pitfalls covered with branches. The most common method now-a-days is to entice or drive them into strong enclosures. To capture elephants in such a manner frequently requires over 2,000 men. The natives are glad to join in such a hunt, however, for the elephants destroy their crops. The priests of certain native tribes encourage the killing of the elephants, because they tear down and destroy the sacred bo-trees. There are many interesting accounts of how elephants are tamed after they have been caught, and of how they are taught to take part in tiger hunts, or to labor for man. It is said that the elephant is an intelligent animal, ranking next after the horse and the dog, and by some is considered superior to these; he is possessed with a good memory, instances have been known where an elephant has cherished for a surprisingly long time, feelings of gratitude or resentment. The Cabbage Butterfly-Caterpillar Changes Color FLORENCE E. WHITE During this last summer (1918) an interesting thing came to my notice. In a field of Danish red cabbage, Yorktown, West. Co., N. Y., I noticed the cabbage butterflies flitting around the cabbage plants. On further investigation the larvae were discovered, but instead of being green as they naturally are, they were of a purplish tinge so similar to the leaves on which they were feeding that they were hardly noticeable. Whether the color was due to the cabbage they had eaten or whether they have some power by nature to change to a protective coloring I do not know. The seed was imported from Denmark so it does not seem possible that a foreign species could have entered with it. THE NATURE-STUDY REVIEW DEVOTED PRIMARILY TO ALL SCIENTIFIC STUDIES OF NATURE IN Published monthly, except June, July and August. Subscriptions price, including membership in the American Nature Study Society, $1.00 per year (nine issues). Canadian postage, 10 cents extra, foreign postage, 20 cents extra. Important Please note date of expiration of your subscription on the label of the wrapper. Subscriptions must be paid in advance to comply with postal requirements. Subscriptions and advertisements should be sent to The Comstock Publishing Co., Ithaca, N. Y. Manuscripts for Publications and Books to be Reviewed should be sent to the editor. Editorial We think too little of the great influence which geography wields over our daily lives. It is a matter which we as teachers should emphasize. This January morning the view from the editorial windows gives a scene of the earth snow clad to the horizon, variegated with the purple patches of bare forests, and the chickadee and nuthatches are taking cheerful turns at the banquet board in the oak tree. A year ago we were looking out over the white sands of Florida and were watching the pelicans fishing while we sat in the shade of a palm and a live oak. Four years ago in California we looked out over sunny orange orchards to rugged snow-capped mountains and a varied thrush, the most gorgeous robin in the world, was finding his breakfast under the calla lilies blossoming in the garden. And ten years ago we were sitting in a garden in Luxor, Egypt, under the shade of date palms and bamboo while a great stork rattled his beak by the fountain; a gazelle peered at us from behind a hibiscus bush and a hoopoe scratched in the dust at our feet, opening and closing his crown feathers like a golden halo about his head. Of these divergent January scenes the only things in common were the skies, the heavenly bodies and the English sparrows and the differences were all due to geography. In each place the native peoples were living by the laws of geographic conditions which are as fixed as were the laws of the Medes and Persians. Every day of our lives is modified and ruled by our geography but so accustomed are we to our living conditions that we never think about it any more than we do about the air we are breathing. Another geographic thought for us this New Year should lead us to thankfulness for the good fortune of being on our own special |