THE STOMACH OF THE HORSE. 287 



XIV. 



THE STOMACH OF THE HORSE. 



When we think of the adaptations of animal 

 structure to the different conditions of Hving crea- 

 tures, the camel, the ship of the desert, immedi- 

 ately occurs ; and no doubt it is highly interesting 

 to observe how this animal is adapted to the sandy 

 waste, in its eye, its nostril, its foot, the cells of its 

 stomach, and its capacity of endurance. But it is, 

 perhaps, more to our purpose to look to our do- 

 mestic animals, and the most of all deserving at- 

 tention is the horse. 



Of all creatures, the horse has the smallest sto- 

 mach relatively to its size. Had he the quadruple 

 ruminating stomach of the ox, he would not have 

 been at all times ready for exertion: the traveller 

 could not have baited his steed and resumed his 

 journey. The stomach of the horse is not so ca- 

 pacious, even when distended, as to impede his 

 wind and speed ; and the food is passing onward 

 with a greater degree of regularity than in any 

 other animal. A proof of this is, that the horse 

 has no gall-bladder. Most people understand that 

 bile is necessary to digestion ; and the gall-bladder 

 is a receptacle for that bile. Where the digestive 

 process is performed in a large stomach, and the 



