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AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 



than simply softening down the food. The remaining* 

 operations are carried on in the intestines, which, by their 

 great length, presenting an immense extent of surface 

 'filled with absorbents, are especially adapted to the per- 



THE STOMACH. 



a The oesophagus, or gullet, extending to the stomach. 



b The entrance of the gullet into the stomach. The circular layers of the 

 muscles are very thick and strong, and which, by their contractions 

 help to render it difficult for the food to be returned or vomited. 



c The portion of the stomach which is covered by cuticle, or insensible skin. 



d d The margin, which separates the cuticular from the villious portion. 



e e The mucous, or villous (velvet) portion of the stomach, in which the food 

 is principally digested. 



/ The communication between the stomach and the first intestine. 



g The common orifice through which the bile and the secretion from the pan- 

 creas pass into the first intestine. The two pins mark the two tubes 

 here united. 



h A smaller orifice, through which a portion of the secretion of the pan- 

 creas enters the intestines. 



formance of this duty. A remarkable peculiarity in the 

 anatomy of this organ in the horse, is strikingly indicative 

 -of its limited part in the functions of digestion. As is well- 

 known, it is the mucous membrane which is furnished with 



