16 SCIENCE

phant is a good traveller. On good ground
horse can outrun him, but on hud ground the
horse would have no chance, and there are few
animals that can cover more ground in a day
than an elephant* And in spite of hit» appearance,
he can turn with surprising agility and move
through the forest as quietly sis a rabbit*

An elephant's foot fa almost m remarkable as
1m trunk* In the first place, his foot is encased in
a baglike skin with a heavy padded bottom, with
some of the characteristics of an antiskid tire.
An elephant walks on his toes, lib tot*$ form the
front part of his foot and the boncn of Im foot
run not only back but up* Underneath thtw btmcn
at the back of his foot is a gelatine-like nubfttance,
which is a much more effective shock nbaurher
than rubber heels or any other device* One of
the curious things about this kind of a foot w that
it swells out when the weight i» on it and con-
tracts when the weight is removed« A$ $t can*
sequence an elephant may sink four feet into a
swamp but the minute he begins to lift hi* leg$*
his feet will contract and come out of the hole
they have made without suctiosi* The elephant**
kg, being practically a perpendicular *haft, re-
quires less muscular effort for him to stand than
it does for ordinary animals. Tim fa one of the
reasons why he can go for a century without
Iyin$ down,

A country that elephants have long inhabited