ANATOMICAL CONSIDERATION'S. 21 



bovine tribe. The time was also lengthened, br the equine race not 

 being gifted with a power to ruminate. The ox, having filled the mouth, 

 bestows little care upon the comminution of the food ; but the jaw being 

 moved twice or thrice, thereby crushing the herbage, so as to form it 

 into a pellet, the mouthful is forwarded at once to the rumen. This 

 receptacle is large, and is somewhat hastily filled. Then the ox retires 

 to a quiet spot and there enjoys its meal ; the grass being regurgitated 

 and fully masticated, during which time the animal is said to be " chew- 

 ing the cud." The horse has no such power. The food it gathers 

 must be prepared by mastication and insalivation before it enters the 

 stomach ; consequently, because of the niceness of its appetite, and the 

 absolute necessity for each mouthful being separately comminuted, the 

 horse, in a free state, has to journey far and to feed long before it can 

 lie down and rest. 



The equine race were meant to collect their sustenance from the sur- 

 face of the earth ; and, doubtless, the tribe are most at ease when feed- 

 ing with the head lowered to the necessary position, A dog naturally 

 lowers the mouth when it laps a fluid ; but, if this creature be tempted 

 to drink from a saucer held on a level with the ordinary elevation of the 

 head, repeated coughing will interrupt the draught and testify to the 

 inconvenience experienced by the animal. So, in the instance of the 

 horse, we may infer the meal is most relished when the head sinks to 

 its gratification ; and, to justify such an inference, anatomy discloses a 

 special provision made to that end. Such a proof is, to the author's 

 mind, of much more weight than any assertion to the contrary of the 

 united British public, as emphasized by the fixed altitude of all the 

 mangers throughout the three kingdoms. 



A serious suggestion here forces itself upon the mind of the writer ; 

 and it is one the importance of which should recommend it to the con- 

 sideration of the public. Laryngeal affections are among the most 

 frequent annoyances of every stable, and stand foremost among the 

 most vexatious of the many evils which the veterinary surgeon is ex- 

 pected to eradicate. 



However, it is proved that if sustenance be swallowed with the head 

 at a certain elevation, it must interfere with the most irritable organ 

 entering into the composition of the entire body. Then, horse pro- 

 prietors would do well to reflect upon the fact, and to say, how far con- 

 stantly-repeated provocation may aggravate or induce the fearful laryn- 

 geal maladies to which domesticated horses are peculiarly liable. 



The valves existing in the jugular veins are formed by duplicatures 



. of its internal lining membrane ; and they are so arranged as to prevent 



the natural tendency to regurgitate when the fluid within the vessel 



