242 COMMON BHTTTSH ANIMALS 



on its enemies. The maximum strength of the ox is 

 in liis neck, not, as in the horse, in his shoulders. 

 Thus it is to the head of the ox that the yoke is 

 usually attached. 



Food, in large quantities, is needed to support the 

 huge frame of the ox. The food is entirely vegetable, 

 consisting mainly of grass. The rough tongue grasps 

 bunches of grass, which are pressed by the toothless 

 front part of the upper jaw against the eight chisel- 

 edged front teeth in the lower jaw. These eight 

 teeth consist of six incisors and two canines, which 

 last, have the same form as the incisors. Between 

 these front teeth and the molars at the back there 

 is a wide toothless gap. The molars of the upper 

 jaw do not meet those of the lower jaw, because the 

 upper jaw is wider than the lower one. The grind- 

 ing action of these teeth is brought about by the 

 lateral movement of the lower jaw, which may be 

 noticed any day when a cow is " chewing the cud." 

 The food is gathered as opportunity occurs ; it is 

 swallowed rapidly, unmasticated, and passes into the 

 paunch or rumen, the first and largest compartment 

 of the four-chambered stomach. When this organ 

 is sufficiently filled, the domestic ox lies down, and 

 begins the process of " cheAving the cud." If it be 

 a wild animal it seeks some place of safety from its 

 enemies. The unchewed food passes into the second 

 chamber — the reticulum or honeycomb stomach — 

 where it is softened and moistened and formed into 

 pellets or boluses, which, by a convulsive action, 

 something like a hiccough, are forced back along the 

 oesophagus into the mouth, to be thoroughly ground 



