2io ANIMAL LIFE PAST AND PRESENT. 



Kumiuants, as the Deer, Cattle, &c., are often con- 

 veniently termed. Finally, in the Oxen the crowns of 

 the teeth become still taller, with the deep valleys be- 

 tween the crescents more or less completely filled up 

 with cement. Side by side with 

 this remarkable modification of the 

 cheek-teeth, the Euminants have 

 undergone other equally notable 

 structural changes, some of which 

 we may briefly mention. Thus, in 

 the first place, all the true Eumi- 

 nants have totally lost their upper 

 incisive teeth ; the lower ones, as we 

 FIG. 70. A left upper may see in the Cow and the Sheep, 



cheek-tooth of an Ante- , . . . , . , 



lope. This tooth is less biting against a hard pad in the 



worn than the one in the rr\i A.-I 



preceding figure. upper jaw. Then, again, the two 



separate metacarpal and me ta tar- 

 sal bones found respectively in the fore and hind limbs 

 of the Pig, have fused together to form the well- 

 known "cannon-bone," so characteristic of the limbs 

 of the Euminants. While, finally, in place of the 

 simple stomach of the Pig, we find all the true 

 Euminants furnished with that peculiarly complex 

 type of divided stomach necessary for the function 

 of " chewing the cud " or ruminating. 



All these modifications of structure are admirably 

 suited to the mode of life of the Euminants. Thus 

 the height of the crowns of the cheek-teeth, and the 

 complex grinding surfaces which they present, are 

 necessary to withstand the excessive wear to which 



