130 



AGRICULTURE. 



and by a nod of the head cuts it away. A cow wraps her tongue 

 around the long, coarse grass, pulls it into her mouth, closes 

 the incisors and upper gum upon it, and by a movement of the 

 head tears it away. The horse is therefore able to take the 

 fine grass, and to crop the pasture more closely than the cow. 



THE STOMACH. Sheep and cattle are ruminants they chew 

 the cud. See Fig. 71. a represents the gullet connecting the 

 stomach and mouth through which the food passes into the 

 stomach, and / the beginning of the intestine through which 



the food passes out of the 

 stomach. There are four sacs all 

 joined ; b is the first or largest 

 stomach (the rumen, or paunch); 

 c is the second (reticulum) ; 

 d the third (omasum) ; e the 

 fourth (abomasum). When a 

 cow takes in coarse food, it passes 

 into the first or largest stomach 

 until the cow is done eating. 

 Then the cow stops taking in 

 food and begins to digest it. 

 Fig. 71. The four stomachs of a cow. After soaking or steeping some 

 time in the large stomach, it gradually comes back through the 

 gullet to the mouth, to be chewed over and over until it becomes 

 more liquid-like. Then it flows back and passes right on into 

 the smaller stomachs, and thence into the intestines. If liquid 

 food is taken, as in the case of calves, the food passes right on 

 into the third and fourth stomachs. The four stomachs of the 

 cow therefore enable her to take in a large quantity of food, 

 and to digest very coarse fodder. The chewing of the cud 

 enables her to do without the complete set of teeth so neces- 

 sary in the case of horses. The single stomach of a horse 

 holds about 3 gallons, the four stomachs of a cow from 60 to 

 70 gallons. 



