ELEPHANTS 169

only one genus with two species, but in the past it was
of considerable importance, most of the animals in-
cluded in it being gigantic, most but not all, for one
of the forms was the dwarf elephant of Malta, which
was not much more than a couple of feet high, con-
siderably less, in fact, than the local mouse. Thetwo
species are the Indian elephant and the African
elephant ; the first is now almost entirely a domesti-
cated animal, the other is only domesticated in
menageries, for the African natives appear to have
made no attempt to utilise its powers for the service
ofman. The Indian elephant has moderate-sized ears ;
those of the African elephant are enormous. The
molars of the Indian elephant have their enamel in
parallel folds; those of the African elephant have
their enamel folds in the shape of elongated diamonds.
The trunk of the Indian elephant has a long upper
lobe ; the trunk of an African elephant has two lobes
of equal size. The Indian elephant has four or five
nails on the hind foot; the African has never more
than three nails on the hind foot ; and the African
elephant is larger than the Indian one. The Indian
elephant is a much more intelligent animal than
the other, but there is no doubt that its intelli-
gence has been overrated. Like the camel, he has
been thought the most of by those who knew him
least. In Indian literature he is never noticed for his
intelligence ; the animals that come in for praise on
that account are the monkey, the fox, and the crow.
At the same time it would be folly to deny that the
elephant has considerable mental power, considering
the small size of his brain. We may not believe the