THE OX AND THE DAIRY. 25 



is not uncommon in some very warm countries, as in the king- 

 dom of Muskat in Arabia Felix, near the straits of Ormuz, 

 one of the most fertile parts of Arabia fish and other animal 

 substances are there given to the horses in the cold season, as 

 well as in times of scarcity." 



We may here add, that other herbivorous animals, also, 

 occasionally partake of animal food, to which they are doubt- 

 less led by instinct as to a stimulus required by the system, 

 for the maintenance of a due degree of energy. In Lapland, 

 for example, the reindeer devours the lemming, a little rodent 

 animal, allied to the vole or field-mouse, and which often 

 swarms in myriads in that country. The American reindeer, 

 according to the assurance of Franklin, are accustomed to 

 devour mice, and also to gnaw their fallen antlers. 



Though not very delicate as an organ of taste, the tongue 

 of the ox is of great assistance in the prehension and collec- 

 tion of food. It is shorter than that of the horse, and rough 

 on the upper surface, with retroverted horny papillae ; by its 

 action it combs the grass together into a roll, in order to 

 bring it between the incisor teeth, and the pad of the upper 

 jaw. During the mastication it disposes the food between 

 the grinders, and by the assistance of the bars or ridges on 

 the palate, forms it into balls for swallowing : in the act of 

 drinking it constitutes a trough through which the fluid 

 passes ; it is used to clear the naked muzzle from various 

 impurities, and also as a rasp to rub its own coat, or that of 

 its companion, in token of friendship. It is from this habit 

 of rasping each other's coats, that compacted balls of hair are 

 so often formed in the stomach, where they lodge, to the in- 

 terference, more or less decided, with its digestive functions. 

 These matted balls of hair are found in the rumen or paunch, 

 and also in the abomasum, or true digesting stomach ; they 

 vary in size, and are often formed at a very early age. In 

 some cases, bits of straw, wood, and other extraneous matters, 

 are mixed with the hair ; and occasionally they consist of dis- 

 tinct layers, with a central nucleus consisting of a nail, a bit 

 of stone, or some other substance. 



While speaking of the tongue, we may remark the os 

 hyoides, or its bony support, and the larynx connected with 

 it, differ much from the same parts in the horse ; but these 

 parts will be better understood by comparing the annexed 

 figures. 



