26 SCIENTIFIC FEEDING OF ANIMALS 



This brief outline of the changes which the food 

 undergoes on digestion shows that the process is 

 not limited to one organ. The proteins are digested 

 not only in the stomach, but also in the intestine, 

 the fats are acted upon by the gastric juice as well 

 as by the secretions from the pancreas, the gall 

 bladder, and the intestine, and the solution and 

 digestion of starch takes place in the several portions 

 of the alimentary canal. It is clear, therefore, 

 that the various digestive organs assist one another 

 materially, and the work of one can be partly or 

 wholly taken over by another. 



The undigested portions of the food, along with 

 the remains of the digestive juices, are expelled by 

 the animal from time to time. The period during 

 which the food remains in the body depends upon 

 the quantity of undigested matter and the size of 

 the digestive apparatus, considerable differences 

 being shown by the various domestic animals. 



In the case of the ox the alimentary canal is 

 twenty times as long as its body, in sheep and goats 

 it is twenty-seven times, in pigs fourteen times, 

 whilst in the horse and donkey it is only eleven to 

 twelve times the body -length. Similar differences 

 are also to be noted in the capacity of the stomach 

 and intestines, for the ox can hold on an average 

 365 kilograms (1 kilo = 2-2 lbs.), the horse, 211 

 kilos, and the pig, 23-31 kilos. Thus it follows 

 that the length of time which elapses before the 



