232 



ANIMALS OF 



with the heat of the situation, it dilates the 

 stomachs, and these again contract upon their 

 contents. The aliment, thus squeezed, has 

 but two passages to escape at ; one into the 

 third stomach, which is very narrow ; and the 

 other back, by the gullet, into the routh, 

 which is wider. The greatest quantity, there- 

 fore, is driven back, through the largest aper- 

 ture, into the mouth, to be chewed a second 

 time ; while a small part, and that only the 

 most liquid, is driven into the third stomach, 

 through the orifice which is so small. The 

 food whick is driven to the mouth, and chew- 

 ed a second time, is thus rendered more soft 

 and moist, and becomes at last liquid enough 

 to pass into the conduit that goes to the third 

 stomach, where it undergoes a still farther 

 comminution. In this stomach, which is call- 

 ed the manifold, from the number of its leaves, 

 all which tend to promote digestion, the grass 

 has the appearance of boiled spinage, but not 

 yet sufficiently reduced, so as to make a part 

 of the animal's nourishment ; it requires the 

 operation of the fourth stomach for this pur- 

 pose, where it undergoes a complete macera- 

 tion, and is separated to be turned into chyle. 



But nature has not been less careful in 

 another respect, in fitting the intestines of 

 these animals for their food. In the carnivo- 

 rous kinds they are thin and lean ; but in ru- 

 minating animals they are strong, fleshy, and 

 well covered with fat. Every precaution 

 seems taken that can help their digestion : 

 their stomach is strong and muscular, the more 

 readily to act upon its contents ; their intes- 

 tines are lined with fat, the better to preserre 

 their warmth; and they are extended to a 

 much greater length, so as to extract every 

 part of that nourishment which their vegetable 

 food so scantily supplies. 



In this manner are all quadrupeds of the 

 cow, the sheep, or the deer kind, seen to ru- 

 minate ; being thus furnished with four sto- 

 machs, for the macerating of their food. 

 These, therefore, may most properly be call- 

 ed the ruminant kinds; although there are 

 many others that have this quality in a less 

 observable degree. The rhinoceros, the 

 camel, the horse, the rabbit, the marmotte, 

 and the squirrel, all chew the cud by inter- 

 vals, although they are not furnished with 

 stomachs like the former. But not these 



alone, there are numberless other animals 

 that appear to ruminate ; not only birds, but 

 fishes and insects. Among birds are the 

 pelican, the stork, the heron, the pigeon, and 

 the turtle ; these have a power of disgorging 

 their food to feed their young. Among fishes 

 are lobsters, crabs, and that fish called the 

 dorado. The salmon also is said to be of this 

 number : and, if we may believe Ovid, the 

 scarus likewise ; of which he says," 



Of all the fish that graze beneath the flood, 

 He only ruminates his former food. 



Of insects, the ruminating tribe is still lar- 

 ger; the mole, the cricket, the wasp, the 

 drone, the bee, the grasshopper, and the beetle. 

 All these animals either actually chew the cud, 

 or seem at least to ruminate. They have the 

 stomach composed of muscular fibres, by 

 means whereof the food is ground up and 

 down, in the same manner as in those which 

 are particularly distinguished by the appella- 

 tion of ruminants. 



But not these alone ; men themselves have 

 been often known to ruminate, and some even 

 with pleasure. The accounts of these calami- 

 ties, for such I must consider them, incident 

 to our fellow-creatures, are not very pleasant 

 to read : yet I must transcribe a short one, as 

 given us by Slare, in the Philosophical Trans- 

 actions, as it may, in some measure, show the 

 satisfaction which the lower tribes of animals 

 enjoy while they ruminate. The man in ques- 

 tion was a citizen of Bristol, of about twenty 

 years of age, and, what seemed more extra- 

 ordinary still, of a ruminating family, for his 

 father was frequently subject to the same in- 

 firmity, or amusement, as he himself perhaps 

 would call it. This young man usually began 

 to chew his meat over again within about a 

 quarter of an hour after eating. His ruminat- 

 ing after a full meal generally lasted about an 

 hour and a half; nor could he sleep until this 

 task was performed. The victuals, upon the 

 return, tasted even more pleasantly than at 

 first ; and returned as if they had been beaten 

 up in a mortar. If he ate a variety of things, 

 that which he ate first came up again first; 

 and if this return was interrupted for any time, 



a At contra herbosa pisces laxantur arena, 

 Ut scarus epastus solus qui ruminant escas. 



