AGE OF THE OX. 



The age of the ox has demanded much less study than that 

 of the horse, on account of its shorter hfe and the more limited 

 time in which it is utilized for specific purposes. In a growing 

 animal the evidences of its youth are unmistakable. Arrived at 

 adult life, the difference of a year or two in its age is less impor- 

 tant, in regard to its value, than it is in the horse, and later 

 becomes even less so. The age of the ox is determined by the 

 changes which take place in its dentition and the wearing away 

 of its teeth, and by the changes in the growth, form, and appear- 

 ance of its horns. 



DENTITION OF THE OX. 



Formula 



Temporary, .... ^W = 20 



Permanent, . . . . , ' ' = 32 



4 . . D 



The OX has thirty- two teeth, — twenty-four molars, arranged 

 as in the horse, in arches of six on either side of each jaw, and 

 eight incisors in the lower jaw, with none in the upper. In 

 rare cases there are rudimentary molars (wolf-teeth), but when 

 these exist in the young mouth they drop before the permanent 

 dentition is complete. Tush teeth are not present. 



INCISORS. 



The upper jaw is devoid of teeth, but the intermaxillary 

 bones are covered by a dense cartilaginous cushion and strong 

 gum, which furnishes a resisting body to the incisors of the 

 lower jaw in the prehension of food. 



In the lower jaw there are eight incisors, arranged like the 

 ribs of a fan, on the spatula-shaped arch formed by the ex- 

 tremity of the maxillary bone. 

 (158) 



