IN THE LOWER ANIMALS, ETC. 353 



that the stomach was neither a stewpan, a fer- 

 menting-vat, nor a mill, but only a stomach ; an 

 appropriate warning to every one who regards 

 the preservation and effective employment of the 

 molar teeth as a matter of trivial importance. 



The crab possesses a powerful apparatus of 

 calcareous gastric teeth ; the gallinaceous bird a 

 muscular gizzard; the ruminant quadruped has 

 the faculty of regurgitation and mastication at 

 leisure. No such provision is made in our case, 

 and we may rest assured that the penalty of 

 impaired health must inevitably follow our neglect 

 of so important a function as that of the thorough 

 mastication of our food. 



A curious and interesting subject of inquiry 

 presents itself in the indefinable variety of expres- 

 sion arising from the undue prominence, or from 

 the absence, of certain teeth, although we may not 

 give our assent to Lavater's ingenious but fanciful 

 theory of physiognomy, which he carried out to a 

 really absurd extent. 



We may not admit that mental qualities are 

 indicated by the form and position of the teeth, 

 but no one can doubt that the expression of the 

 face is powerfully influenced by their condition 

 and arrangement. For example, if the upper 

 canines are large and prominent, or approximate, 

 through absence of the lateral incisors, too nearly 

 to the centre of the mouth, a somewhat harsh 

 and even fierce expression is the result ; and, on 



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