ON THE STABLE/ 151 



the horse fills his stomach twice as often as 

 the ox. 



Nature has for this purpose furnished his 

 stomach with the faculty of secreting the gastric 

 juice in very large quantities ; she has also en- 

 dowed it with very strong muscles, to enable it 

 to force its contents in a less digested form into 

 the intestines ; for, on examining the duode- 

 num, the food will be found to have undergone 

 very httle alteration in its appearance, from 

 which it is probable that the stomach of the 

 horse contributes litde more towards digestion 

 than combining the gastric juice with its con- 

 tents, and immediately forcing them into the 

 intestines, which, in this animal are exceedingly 

 large, particularly the coecum, the strong mus- 

 cular bands of which render it, probably,, an ad- 

 ditional seat of digestion. 



The coecum, or blind gut, occupies the 



lower part of the abdomen, and terminates in a 



L 4 point 



