CHAPTER IV. 

 THE RUMIMJI.TIWG "ANIMALS. 



The strong, laborious Ox, of honest front." THOMSON. 



THE subject of the present chapter is, perhaps, the most in- 

 teresting that is furnished by the whole system of animated na- 

 ture. A very little reflection will suffice to show, that those 

 animals, commonly called ruminating, of which the ox, sheep, 

 and goat kind, are the principal, constitute, so far as considered 

 in relation to man, the most important and intrinsically valuable 

 part of the brute creation. If, indeed, indispensable necessity 

 alone were made the criterion of utility and value, the ox and 

 the sheep would claim a superiority even over that noble animal, 

 the horse ; for the former, nourishing us with their milk, sus- 

 taining us with their flesh, and clothing us with their fleeces, are 

 objects of the utmost importance to us, and absolutely necessary 

 to our well-being, if not to our existence ; while the latter, not- 

 withstanding hii- extensive and universally acknowledged utility, 

 might be left c it of the system of animal creation with less 

 detriment to the human species, than would ensue from the 

 omission, or extinction of the ox and the sheep. Ought we 

 not, then, to admire and adore the infinite goodness of Him, 

 who, by creating for our use both the one and the other, has 

 so kindly considered our wants, and provided for their supply ; 

 and consulted not only our necessities, but also our con- 

 venience ? 



The various animals which ruminate, or chew the cud, living 

 wholly on vegetables, have no inducement to make war on any 

 other species ; and being confined to grain and herbage for their 

 nourishment, their stomachs and intestines have received from 

 nature a conformation which enables them to receive a large 

 quantity of food : for this purpose, they are furnished with four 

 stomachs. The food, after mastication, descends into the first 

 of these, and after remaining there some time, is forced up again 

 into the mouth, where it undergoes a second chewing. After 

 this, it passes into the second stomach, and thence descends 

 through the various convolutions of the intestines. Here, again, 

 we must admire the wisdom of the Creator, in thus giving to 

 these animals an interior conformation which enables them to 

 receive large quantities of aliment, and to retain it in the stomach 

 a length of time, sufficient for the extraction of such a quantity 

 &f nutritious matter as is necessary for their support. 



