246 BUMINANTIA. 



The two hoofs present a flat surface to each other, and appear like a 

 single hoof cleft in two, hence the names of bisulcate, cloven-footed, 

 applied to these animals. This form of hoof imparts lightness and elas- 

 ticity to the spring, and aids them in soft ground, expanding when sinking, 

 and closing when being extricated. Many have a sebaceous gland be- 

 tween the toes, whose oflSce is to lubricate the digits and prevent injury 

 from friction ; and being hollow, are often called feet-pits. They have 

 received the name of ruminants or chewers of the cud, from the circum- 

 stance of their having the faculty of masticating their food a second time, 

 it being returned to their mouth by one of their four stomachs. The 

 first of these, or the paunch, receives the food as it is plucked, and in the 

 second it undergoes a good maceration. It is then returned to the mouth 

 in pellets or boluses to undergo a complete trituration by the molars ; 

 then passed into the third stomach, where it undergoes an additional pre- 

 paration, and is lastly received into the true digestive stomach. The 

 object of this provision of nature is obviously to enable them to crop a 

 large quantity of food quickly, to be masticated at leisure, to obviate the 

 many interruptions they are liable to from beasts of prey and other alarms, 

 as all are excessively timid and wary. 



The tribe of ruminating animals comprises most of the animals useful 

 to man, viz., camels, deer, cattle, and sheep, and of all the Ungu- 

 lata they are the most truly and exclusively vegetable feeders. They 

 break or tear rather than cut their food, and this action is accompanied 

 by a swinging motion of the head forwards. To assist them in their 

 watchfulness their eyes are so placed laterally that they have a great 

 range of vision. Their ears are large, placed well back, and very mobile ; 

 and their smell is very acute. The speed of most is great. Many of 

 them are docile and can be easily tamed, but they show very little intelli- 

 gence. Most of them possess horns. 



The nasal bones vary much, and the intermaxillaries are usually much 

 lengthened ; the lachrymals are directed forwards, and occupy a consider- 

 able extent of the cheeks. The lower jaw is very long, and is narrowed in 

 the space between the canine and first pr83molar. The dorsal vertebrae are 

 twelve to fifteen in number, and they have long spinous processes. The 

 metacarpal and metatarsals form a single cannon hone, with one or 

 two splint bones in most of tribe ; and there are phalangeal bones to each 

 toe. The olecranon and os calcis are both large. 



The salivary glands are large. The paunch or first stomach is capacious, 



