Diseases of the Teeth. 227 



Wolf teeth are evidences of evolution in the horse, 

 showing his relation to the tapir and other animals, the 

 reasons advanced for their removal, namely, danger to 

 the eyes, is not tenable, as the eyes are never directly 

 affected by them. They are usually removed as a matter 

 of policy, by the veterinarian,- they might, if very large, 

 interfere with the bit; as the wolf tooth has a fang, it 

 should be pulled, not knocked out, if its removal is de- 

 cided upon. In the chapter treating of the construction 

 and arrangement of the teeth, the differences in width 

 of the upper and lower jaws of horses were commented 

 upon, and the effect such differences, together with the 

 natural slope of the molars (grinders), would have upon 

 the process of chewing. The commonest trouble that the 

 veterinarian is called upon to treat in horse dentistry is 

 the presence of project ions'of the grinders, such projec- 

 tions causing sore mouths, slavering, the passage of un- 

 digested food in the feces, unthriftiness, sometimes very 

 marked, indigestion, wounds of the tongue and lining of 

 the mouth, side pulling on the bit, the manger often be- 

 ing covered with saliva. 



The treatment is simple, calling as it does for the use 

 of the float (dental file) and yet is not simple enough to 

 warrant the trusting of this work to the travelling quack or the 

 majority of owners, the veterinarian should be employed 

 and after the removal of the projections soft feed should 

 be given for a few days. The average work horse wi ' 

 need this attention once a year. 



Decayed teeth often cause symptoms in horses which 

 have in the past been mistaken for Glanders, Nasal Gleet; 

 such symptoms as a stinking breath, together with a 



