132 THE MODERN HORSE DOCTOR. 



The fourth or internal coat of the stomach corresponds to the 

 mucous membrane of other organs ; its upper or cardiac portion 

 is protected by a thick cuticular layer, supposed to be insensible, 

 like that found within the gizzard of the feathered tribe. This 

 membrane is a prolongation of the external covering of the body 

 into its interior ; its -walls pour out or secrete a fluid which acts 

 upon the food in such a manner as to dissolve it ; and through 

 its walls is also absorbed a portion of the food which is destined 

 for the support of the system. 



This cuticular covering of the stomach, to which we find the 

 bots attached, terminates about midway. The other half, termed 

 the villous, from its glistening aspect, extends to the pyloric ori- 

 fice, where it gathers into a fold, forming a kind of valve. This 

 valve opens and shuts by the muscular relaxations and contrac- 

 tions of the stomach and diaphragm, and permits the food, when 

 reduced to a fluid form, to pass into the first intestine. 



The villous coat of the stomach, being thickly studded with 

 blood vessels and nerves, is highly susceptible of irritation ; it is 

 distinguished from the cuticular portion by its red, glistening 

 appearance, and by being coated with a thick mucus. 



It is a fact of great practical importance to the farmer to know 

 that the gastric fluid, secreted by the glands and follicles of the 

 villous coat of the stomach, is the real solvent of the food, and 

 that a certain quantity can only act on a limited amount of food ; 

 therefore if a horse, from a depraved appetite, takes more food 

 into his stomach than the gastric fluid can dissolve, it remains 

 there undigested, a source of irritation and mischief. The 

 amount of gastric juice secreted at any one time is not in pro- 

 portion to the amount of food in the stomach, but to the wants 

 of the system ; so that if a horse be fed without any regard to 

 quantity, occupying twenty out of the twenty-four hours in cram- 

 ming his digestive organs, and the evil goes on increasing with 

 every addition to their cavities, disease sooner or later must man- 

 ifest itself, or else the animal becomes a depraved feeder, and 

 living, yet half dead, drags out a miserable existence. These 

 depraved feeders — often made so by want of foresight on the 

 part of their owners — are to be found under all circumstances 

 and among every variety of breed ; which fact argues a general 



