104 HANDBOOK OF NATURE STUDY 



jaws of both sheep and cattle have no front teeth ; especially 

 developed eyeteeth, like the canines in the cats and dogs, 

 are wanting in both upper and lower jaws. Notice the large 

 gap between the lower incisors and the molars. What large 

 surfaces the molars have, and what curious hard ridges they 

 show ! Why these peculiar teeth ? Let us consider how 

 and what the animal eats, and we can perhaps answer the 

 question. Cattle cannot bite off the grass they eat. Why 



b 



FIG. 23. 

 a, skull of a cow showing dentition ; 6, incisors ; c, molars. 



not ? They gather it with their tongue, draw it in between 

 their lower front teeth and the hard upper gum, and then 

 pluck it off. Do they pull it upward or downward ? They 

 gather a big mouthful, and, rolling it into a ball without 

 chewing it thoroughly, swallow it. Now you must look at 

 the drawing of a cow's stomach. (See figure.) From the 

 gullet, the food passes into the large paunch to the left; 

 after it has been soaked here for some time, it passes into 

 the honeycomb bag, so called from the cells on its interior 

 wall. Now you have all observed that cattle and sheep often 

 chew and chew for hours while they are lying down, and ap- 



