24 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



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in the second compartment. Food in the third com- 

 partment is subjected to a squeeze which dries it, 

 forcing the extracted juices into the true stomach 

 or fourth compartment. 



Stomach Secretion. The stomach of every class 

 of animals is lined by two kinds of membrane : one, 

 similar in nature to the lining of the oesophagus 

 tube, and the other that admits of secretion. These 

 do not form a double coat but one blends into the 

 other. The section giving off the secretion is 

 known as the villous coat. It extends to the poste- 

 rior end, and to the point where the small intestine 

 joins with the stomach. 



While in the stomach, the saliva continues the 

 digestion of the starchy matter, and is assisted by 

 the gastric juice that pours in from the stomach lining. 

 This secretion has three constituents, acid, rennet and 

 pepsin. The pepsin is a ferment, its work being to 

 split up the protein compounds. The rennet is also 

 a ferment, which assists in the digestion of milk. 

 There is much of this secretion in calves. The 

 gastric juice converts the protein substances into 

 peptones. 



The mucus glands of the stomach secrete mucin, 

 a substance that lines the walls of the stomach, at all 

 times. 



From Stomach to Intestines. The constant 

 churning movement in the stomach causes the food 

 to travel from the entrance to the exit, the small 

 intestine. Up to this time there has been no ab- 

 sorption of the food into the body. Nor is diges- 



