DIGESTION IN THE STOMACH. 85 



stomach, the action of the gastric juice increases in activity 

 the longer the food remains under its influence ; probably 

 because the gastric juice contained in the stomach during the 

 later periods of digestion, is not so much diluted with saliva 

 as the gastric juice of the earlier periods. As corn requires 

 to remain for a comparatively long time in the stomach to 

 become properly digested, we should evidently refrain from 

 giving hay to a horse soon after he has eaten his grain. In 

 fact, in giving hay and corn we should adopt the opposite 

 procedure to that usually practised in stables. If our object 

 is to get a horse to eat as much corn (including chop, in the 

 event of its being used) as he can consume, we may give him 

 the corn in the ordinary way, and after he has eaten it, wait 

 for at least an hour before giving him hay. A better plan I 

 have found in such cases, supposing that the animal gets on 

 chop in his grain, is to give a small amount of hay (say, i or 

 2 Ib.) before the corn, and after the corn has been consumed, 

 to give no more hay for an hour or longer. When a horse 

 has a full allowance of hay and a moderate amount of grain 

 (say, 14 Ib. of the former and 10 of the latter), we might with 

 advantage devote, say, two-thirds of the hay to be divided 

 into portions to be given before the feeds of corn, and keep 

 the remaining one-third for night use. 



Experiment has shown that the average period of retention 

 of food in the stomach is probably not longer than an hour 

 and a-half. 



Under healthy conditions, the opening which forms the 

 exit from the stomach does not permit food to enter the small 

 intestine before the nitrogenous matter is fairly well dissolved. 

 If, however, the passage be effected before that desirable 

 result is obtained, the irritation to the intestine caused by the 

 presence of an excess of unprepared material is apt to give 

 rise to indigestion, the usual symptoms of which will be pain 

 and flatulent colic in aggravated cases, or merely diarrhoea. 



