150 NATURAL HISTORY. 



ihey have them they are very short. The grinders, 

 are not instrumental to the knowledge of their age, 

 we form our judgment from the front and eye teeth. 

 The twelve front teeth begin to shew themselves fif- 

 teen days after the birth of the foal ; these first teeth 

 are round, short, weak, and drop out at different times 

 iii order to make room for others. At two years and 

 a half the four front middle teeth drop out the first, 

 two at top and two at bottom ; a year after, four 

 others fall out, one on each side of those which are al- 

 ready replaced, At about four years and a half, four 

 others drop out, always on the side of those which 

 have been replaced ; these four last milk teeth are re- 

 placed by four others, which do not grow near so fast 

 as these which replaced the first eight ; and these 

 four last teeth, which are called the wedges, and which 

 replace the fouj last milk teeth, are those by which 

 we know the age of a horse. These are easily known, 

 since they are third as well at top as at bottom, be- 

 ginning to count from the middle of the extremity of 

 the jaw. These teeth are hollow, and have a black 

 mark in their concavity. At four years and a half, 

 or five years old, they scarcely project beyond the 

 gums, and the hollow is plainly seen. At six and a 

 half it begins to fill up, the mark also begins to di- 

 minish and grow narrower, and so continues till seven 

 years and a half or eight years, when the hollow is- 

 entirely filled up, and the black mark effaced. After 

 the animal has attained eight years, as these teeth do 

 not give further information of the age, we generally 

 judge by the eye teeth, cr tusks. These four teeth 

 are placed at the side of those which I have just now- 

 taken notice of. the eye teeth, as well as the grind- 

 ers, are not preceded by others which fall out, those 



