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On the Composition of Elephants' Milk

- Chas. A. Doremus

On March 10, 1880, the elephant Hebe gave birth to the female calf America. Hebe is now twenty eight years old, and the father of the calf, Mandrie, thirty-two. Since the birth of the "Baby," the mother has been in excellent health, except during about ten days, when she suffered from a slight indisposition, which soon left her.
When born the calf weighed 213½ lbs., and in April, 1881, weighed 900 lbs. A very fair year's growth on a milk diet. At the time I procured the samples both mother and calf were in fine health.
To obtain the milk was a matter of some difficulty. The calf was constantly sucking, nursing two or three times an hour, morning, noon, and night. The milk could be drawn from either of the two teats, but only in small quantity. The mother gave the fluid freely enough, apparently, to her infant, but sparingly to inquisitive man, so the ruse had to be resorted to of milking one teat while the calf was at the other.

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