44 

 to the diminutive stature of the foal, and are called 

 milk teeth — colt's teeth — or temporary teeth — either 

 of which terms equally well characterizes them. The 

 temporay teeth are twenty-four in number — six inci- 

 sors in either jaw, and three molars on both sides of 

 the upper and also of the lower jaw. The incisors 

 sometimes begin to appear in the mouth before birth, 

 though generally the gums are unbroken when the 

 foal is dropped ; they commence to be shed when 

 the colt is two years and a half old — none remaining 

 in the jaws after the fifth year. The molars, which 

 are the first, second, and third, or the anterior three, 

 begin to be cast off at two years and a half, being 

 entirely removed between the third and fourth year. 

 It used to be asserted that the last temporary molar 

 was shed between the fourth and fifth year of the 

 animaFs life ; but while I was connected with the 

 Veterinary College, I inspected several heads and 

 found none that corroborated the doctrine, which, 

 for half a century, had been inculcated at that 

 Institution. My observations were at first violently 

 contested, and opportunities were sought to up- 

 hold the received and old manner of teaching. By 

 slow degrees, however, the truth prevailed; and I 



