132 DIGESTION. 



which are in the highest degree important in enabling us to 

 rationally treat the animal. 



Oegans oe Digestion. — The organs of digestion are sub- 

 ject to a number of destructive diseases, and require to be 

 investigated with the greatest care by every mode which may 

 prove to be of practical value. 



The teeth are liable to decay and to irregularities of growth, 

 and should be carefully examined for the existence or non- 

 existence of one or more of these conditions. 



The tongue should also be examined for evidence of gastric 

 derangement. Does the organ possess a clear, moist surface, 

 or is it soapy, and does it emit a nauseating efB.uvium ? , 



Attentiom should also be given to the state of the appetite ? 

 Is it good, bad, or indifferent ? Is it morbidly ravenous ? 

 Does the animal lick the walls of the stable ? or, does he eat 

 earth, or mouldy, half-rotted hay, in preference to hay which is 

 good. 



Look also to the state of the dung. Is it clay-coloured ? 

 and does it emit an odour similar to that of rotten eggs ? The 

 above, together with many other peculiarities of a minor 

 character, the observer should make himself acquainted with 

 before he can diagnose those diseases which are peculiar to the 

 digestive organs. 



Depiteating Oegans. — By the depurating organs the 

 reader is to understand that class of organs whose functions 

 aid in ridding the system of what (if allowed to remain within 

 it) would prove injurious to its welfare. This, perhaps, if 

 carried out to its full legitimate extent, would embrace an 

 inquiry into the functions of nearly every class of organs and 

 tissues of importance within the body ; as many of them, 



