r. ■:;.. ( ^^ ) 



I, L- 



O F 



RUMINATING ANIMALS, 



ANIMALS that chew the cud are mofl: harmlefs, and moft 

 eafily tamed. As they live on vegetables, they feldom define to 

 change their paftures, while furnifhed with a proper fupply of food ; 

 and fearing nothing from each other, they generally go in herds for 

 mutual fecurity. The fierceft of the carnivorous kinds feck their 

 prey in folitude ; thefe, on the contrary, range together, and unite in 

 mutual defence ; the hare itfelf is gregarious, in countries where it 

 has no enemies but the beafts of the foreft. 



Ruminant animals feem naturally more indolent and lefs artful 

 than the carnivorous ; their appetites more fimple, and their inftindts 

 more confined. As it requires a tedious procefs to tranfmute grafs 

 into flefh. Nature has, generally, furnilhed grafs-eaters with four fto- 

 machs, through which the food fucceflively paffes, to undergo the 

 proper feparations, 



I. The paunch, which receives the food after a flight chewing, 

 II. The honeycomb, properly a continuation of the former. Thefe 

 two, which are very capacious, the animal fills as fait as it can, 

 then lies down to ruminate, which is a kind of vomiting without 

 effort or pain. The food, by chewing a fecond time, is rendered 

 more foft and moift, and at lad liquid enough to pafs into the third 

 ftomach, where it undergoes ftill farther comminution. In this (Vof 

 mach, called the manyfold, from the number of its leaves (all which 

 promote digeftion), the grafs appears like boiled fpinage : in the fourth 

 ftomach, it is completely macerated, and ready to be turned into 

 chyle. 



The ftomach of ruminant animals is ftrong and mufcular, the 

 ' more readily to ad on its contents i their inteftines fat, the better to 

 preferve their warmth j and extended to a great length, fo as to ex- 

 traft the whole nourilhment which their vegetable food fupplie^. 



The cow, the fheep, and the deer being furniftied with four ftomachs, 

 may properly be called the ruminant kinds i though many others 



have 



