THE DIGESTION OF FEEDS 



27 



and the abdominal muscles. A portion of the softened mass is 

 pressed at a time and conveyed into the mouth by a reverse, so- 

 called peristaltic motion of the gullet. In the mouth it is chewed 

 a second time and swallowed again. By the second chewing the 

 cud or "bolus" is reduced to a pasty pulp, and it now passes 

 directly through the oesophagus groove into the third stomach, the 

 manyplies, without opening the slit in the gullet leading into the 

 paunch. The manyplies has numerous hard, fleshy leaves, between 



FIG. 7. The digestive apparatus of ruminants (a full-grown sheep): A, Rumen or 

 paunch; B, reticulum or honeycomb; C, omasum or manyplies; D, abomasum or rennet 

 stomach (fourth stomach); E, oesophagus or gullet, opening into first and second stomachs; 

 F, opening of fourth stomach into small intestines; G, opening of second stomach into third; 

 H, opening of third stomach into fourth. The lines indicate the course of the feed in the 

 stomachs. (U. S. Department of Agriculture.) 



which the soft mass is pressed, allowing the liquid portion to pass 

 into the fourth stomach, and the balance of the mass is likewise 

 gradually emptied into this stomach. 



The Non-ruminants. In the case of the non-ruminating ani- 

 mals the feed passes directly from the oesophagus into the single 

 stomach. In the horse this has two divisions: The lining of 

 the left one does not secrete any digestive fluid, but the action of 

 the saliva swallowed with the feed is continued here, and the fer- 

 ments found in the feed itself (e.g., in the case of oats) may also 



