188 



CATTLE. 



covered with enamel, both to produce and retain this necessary sharp- 

 ness. The crown of the tooth, or that part of it which is above the 

 gum, presents a surface somewhat convex externally, rising straight 

 from the gum ; while inside the mouth, it has a concave face, dimin- 

 ishing gradually in thickness as it recedes from the gum, and termi- 

 nating in ,in edge, than which, in the young animal, few scissors are 

 sharp*=r. The elastic nature of the pad preserves itself from lacera- 

 tion ; but the grass on which the animal is browsing, less elastic, is 

 partly cut through. 



Tiie molar teeth are as well adapted for the mingled laceration and 

 grinding of the grass. There are two oblique surfaces, those on the 

 lower jaw taking a direction upwards, and from without inwards, and 

 those in the upper jaw slanting in an opposite direction, while the 

 surface of the tooth is sawed into d«ep grooves. There are three in 

 the hist molai-, the edges of which, from cones of enamel sunk deep 

 into the substance of the tooth, are sharp nnd cannot be meddled 

 with without laceration, and these receive corresponding projecting 

 portions from the opposite teeth. From the prolonged although 

 leisurely action of machines like these, the food is reduced to a state 

 of extreme comminution, that every particle of nourishment may be 

 extracted from it. The ox, on whose flesh we subsist, must extract 

 every particle of matter which the food contains, and therefore not 

 a fibre is seen in the faeces. The dung, except from a stall-fed 

 beast, is comparatively of httle worth. 



THE AGE OF CATTLE AS INDICATED BY THE TEETH. 



When describing the horns of cattle (p. 148,) we spoke of the 



BIRTH. 



8BC0ND WEEK. 



