1158] 



paunch so near the honeycomb that the latter is supposed to 

 be a sort of reservoir to the paunch, holding the food for 

 the re-chewing and ruminating process. 



The act of rumination is chewing the cud, and is ex- 

 plained as follows : The animal eats rapidly, chewing very 

 slightly, and continues until the paunch and honeycomb are 

 filled. By an act of muscular contraction, under the will 

 of the animal, the paunch compresses a wad of the indi- 

 gested food, and returns it to the mouth, where it is masti- 

 cated thoroughly and returned to the paunch, and is passed 

 by that into the third stomach or manyplies, so called from 

 the number of plaits or folds of the mucus membrane lining 

 it. Here it undergoes some unknown preparation, and 

 passes into the rennet, where the gastric juice is secreted, 

 and now undergoes true digestion. Sometimes a very small 

 quantity of food is swallowed, and so well chewed up that 

 it passes directly on for digestion without being eructated 

 for regrinding, and this is the case where meal or some other 

 concentrated form of nutriment is used ; then they do not 

 chew the " cud," and yet are not sick. The folly of sup- 

 posing a piece of dried beef or a rag will serve the purpose 

 of a cud is apparent after this explanation of what it is. 

 Sometimes the vegetable matter in the first stomach fer- 

 ments, and such a quantity of gas is generated the sheep 

 swells to bursting, and is utterly unable to throw up the 

 "cud." This is called 



and is quite common in sheep when turned on a fine, rich 

 pasture, especially clover. It is known by the large dis- 

 tension of the sheep, especially on the left side. The size 

 of the stomach interferes with the room for breathing, con- 

 sequently the breathing is short, in fact it becomes so short 

 there is danger of suffocation unless relief comes speedily. 

 It requires something to stop the fermentation, and saline 

 ^mixture by chemical reaction on the acid contents of the 



