810 RUMINATION. 



manner, they are furnished with a peculiar arrangement of the stomach and digestive organs, 

 by means of which they are enabled to gather hastily a large amount of food in any spot where 

 the vegetation is luxuriant, and to postpone the business of mastication and digestion to a 

 time when they may be less likely to be disturbed. The peculiarity of structure lies chiefly in 

 the stomach and gullet, which are formed so as to act as an internal food-pouch, analogous in 

 its use to the cheek-pouches of certain monkeys and rodents, together with an arrangement 

 for regurgitating the food into the mouth at the will of the animal, previous to its mastication 

 and digestion. 



Owing to the absence of teeth in the upper jaw, the Ox is unable to cut or chew the grass 

 as he feeds, and can only seize it between the lower incisor teeth and the upper jaw, so as to 

 tear it by a movement of the head. The sound which is produced by this ripping or tearing 

 process is famaliar to all who have watched cows while grazing. As soon as the grass is taken 

 into the mouth, it undergoes a slight rolling between the molar teeth, and is then swallowed, 

 although it is not as yet in a lit state to be placed in the stomach, and there to be digested. 

 The mode in which it undergoes that process is as follows : 



The stomach and gullet are modified into four distinct compartments, one of which, called 

 the paunch, is very much larger than the others, and is the receptacle into which the food 

 is passed immediately after being swallowed. Here it remains comparatively unchanged until the 

 animal is at rest, and ready to commence the process which is technically called " ruminating," 

 and more popularly termed " chewing the cud." A small portion of the food then passes into 

 the second compartment, which is lined with a series of hexagonal cells, not unlike the comb 

 of the honey-bee, and is formed into little balls by being worked into the cells. From these 

 cells the food is thrown into the mouth by a voluntary effort of the muscles, and is then sub- 

 jected to a thorough mastication. Being again swallowed, it slips over the opening by which 

 it had formerly passed into the paunch, and is received into the third compartment, techni- 

 cally called the "psalterium," or psalm-book, because it is lined with a number of thin longi- 

 tudinal plates of membrane, which are thought to bear some resemblance to the leaves of 

 a book. From thence it passes into the fourth compartment, which is the place where the 

 business of digestion is carried on. 



These different compartments of the stomach are familiar under the general name of tripe, 

 and are popularly distinguished from each other as follows : 



The first compartment is called the paunch, and is lined with a vast number of little 

 flattened projections of the membrane. In the paunch, are found those curious concretions of 

 hair and other substances which are known as hair-balls or bezoar stones. 



The hair-balls are of various dimensions, a collection of them in my own possession varying 

 from the size of a very large cricket-ball to a moderately-sized marble. The hair is arranged most 

 regularly in these balls, and all lies in the same direction, so that the axis on which the ball 

 has revolved is plainly marked by the arrangement of the hair. In some of the balls the sur- 

 face is covered with hair of different colors, some specimens being of a dark tint, while others 

 are pure white. If the hair-ball be divided, its substance will be found to be of a spongy text- 

 ure, affording considerable resistance to the knife, and requiring a strong and sharp blade to 

 cut it neatly. Together with the hair is found a slight admixture of vegetable fibre. When 

 first removed from the animal, these balls are wet and soft, receiving the impressions of the 

 fingers unless handled with some care, but when they are quite dry, they are extremely light, 

 hard, and strong, and tolerably elastic. Sometimes they are smooth on the exterior, which is 

 then of a deep brown hue, and rather highly polished. 



The second compartment is popularly called the "honeycomb," the "bag," or the 

 "bonnet," and the third is termed the "monyplies," or " manyplus," on account of the mem- 

 branous folds with which its interior is lined. 



The last stomach is generally termed the "red." 



In scientific language, the first compartment is called the "rumen," from which word is 

 derived the term "ruminating;" the second is known under the name of "reticulum," or 

 net ; the third is called " omasus," or " psalterium ; " and the fourth is called the " abomasus," 

 because it leads from the third compartment, or omasus. 



