258 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



digestion of hay and oats are interesting and instructive. 

 They found that when small amounts of food are given after 

 fasting they pass directly to the right side of the stomach, 

 becoming in a short time thoroughly mixed with and acted 

 upon by the gastric secretions. As soon after feeding begins 

 as the stomach attains a certain size, the ingesta passes out 

 into the intestines as rapidly as it comes in through tire 

 oesophagus. This occurs regardless of the composition or 

 condition of the food mass. As soon as the animal stops 

 eating, the food passes into the intestines more slowly ; it 

 continues to pass out, however, until the stomach becomes 

 considerably reduced in size, then the stomach empties itself 

 very slowly. It would seem that nature intended that a 

 portion of the ingesta should remain in the stomach to act as 

 ballast. It requires from twelve to fifteen hours for the 

 stomach to completely empty itself. It has ])een found by 

 experiment upon horses that the ingesta arranges itself in 

 layers in the stomach in the order in which it is taken in, 

 that arriving first going into the pyloric portion of the 

 organ. These layers remain quite distinct during the greater 

 part of the time that active digestion is going on, complete 

 mixing of the contents occurring only at the pylorus. 



By the ingestion of large quantities of water soon after 

 eating, the distinct-layer arrangement of the food is broken 

 up and much undigested material washed into the intestines. 

 As soon as material passes from the stomach into the intes- 

 tines it comes in contact with the secretions from the liver, 

 pancreas and intestinal glands. These secretions have both 

 a mechanical and chemical or digestive action. The contents 

 of the small intestines are distinctly fluid. After passing 

 from the small into the large intestines the material is ren- 

 dered more firm in consistence by absorption of fluid from 

 it. It is also probable that considerable cellulose is digested 

 in the larger bowels during the slow passage of the ingesta 

 through them. 



In order that we may so feed our horses as to prevent dis- 

 ease, aside from the anatomical arrangement of the digestive 

 organs, we must take into account the nature of the work 

 required, as well as individual peculiarities of different 



