PURCHASE.                                        9

of the more prominent signs of health: These are constant motion,
such as swinging of the trunk and tail, flapping the ears, swaying
the body or the head from side to side, rubbing one leg against the
opposite one, or swinging it. The skin is soft, almost black in
colour, and the bristles covering the body are firm to the touch.
The mucous membrane of the tongue and mouth is of a rich pink
colour; the eyes clear and bright. The light-coloured spots and
blotches on the head and trunk are pinkish in colour. A moist
secretion exudes around and above the nails, and is easily observed
by throwing some dust on the parts ; this must not, however,
be confounded with an offensive discharge from beneath the
nails, a wet rot, which runs high up, the affected parts being
hot and painful. The appetite is good, and the animal sleeps
for a few hours every night, and immediately on waking commences
to feed.

The signs of indisposition are that the animal is listless, there
is general languor, absence of the incessant motion so characteristic
in health. The skin appears greyish in colour, hangs loosely, and is
dry and sometimes scaly ; the spots and blotches also assume this pale
colour. The trunk presents a shrivelled appearance. The colour of
the membrane of the mouth and that of the tongue changes to a
muddy colour or is deep red, with or without blotches on the palate.
The lower flap of the ear is very often cold to the touch, the
eyes are dull, appear retracted, and there is frequently an abnormal
flow of water from the eyes. The animal may be out of condition
and feverish, the appetite small or even wanting; proper rest is not
taken, and he may lie down and get up several times (generally a
bad sign). If the excretions be examined, the urine may be noticed
to be small in quantity and high coloured, and the dung hard and
coated with mucus, or diarrhoea may be present.

Elephants differ as widely in their points as do horses and other
animals. The chief points of a good elephant are as follows (see
Plates I, II, III, IV and X), namely, medium height, a good big
barrel, skin soft and wrinkled (described by Burmans as crocodile
skin), the head massive, full cheeks and a broad forehead ; the ears
large, eyes bright and kindly, and free from opacity or excessive
flow of tears; the trunk of good length, broad at the root, and
blotched in front with pinkish coloured spots. The neck short, thick,
and full; chest broad; the back straight and broad, broad loins ;
short forelegs, convex in front (described by Burmans as sj]go5.o^S,
i.e., set up like a lion or chinthay, qjccS, the attitude given to the
leogryphs in front of pagodas). The hind-quarters full, sloping
well down and supported by thick short limbs. The pads of the
feet hard, nails smooth and polished, action free, paces fast and easy ;