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jFooti* 



EFORE I enter upon any practical observations on Food, 

 I shall venture to travel a little out of the record, and to pre- 

 face my remarks upon Horse Dietetics^ by attempting- a concise 

 view of the process of digestion. It shall be my endeavour, bow- 

 ever, not to lose sight of the main design of this work, but on the 

 contrary, it shall be my study, in this section, as well as in the pre- 

 ceding ones, to make the great body of my opinions rest upon clear 

 intelligible reasonings, to risque as few speculations as possible, and 

 to apply such as I may venture to indulge in, to plain practical pur- 

 poses. For, though it may be said, perhaps, that the Farmer or 

 Breeder, can be but little concerned in what may be called (in one 

 sense) the theory of digestion, yet, if I mistake not, it \y\\\ appear 

 in the sequel, that from the chemical and philosophical investigations 

 which have lately taken place, in order to account for the phoeno- 

 mena of this astonishing process, in the stomachs of living animals, 

 many very curious and important facts have been discovered, that 

 will prove to be strictly applicable to practical purposes. 



