HOOrKD QUADRUPEDS. It I 



CHAPTEK VI. 



DIVISION I.— VERTEBRATES. 



CLASS I. — MAMMALS. 



ORDER III. — QUADRUPEDS. 



SUB-ORDER. — HOOFED QUADRUPEDS. 



This division of Quadrupeds comprises the Rwrninantia, <n 

 eud-chewing, and the Pachydermata, or thick-skinned animals 

 The ruminating animals are the most distinctly marked among the 

 Mammalia, having generally eight incisive teeth in the lower jaw ; 

 but, with the single exception of the camel, they have none in the 

 upper — their place being occupied by a firm callous projection. 

 The canine teeth are also usually wanting, and the grinders are 

 always adapted for the mastication of vegetable food. In lieu of 

 toes or nails, each of their feet is terminated by a double hoof, 

 which has the appearance of a single hoof cut in two ; and hence 

 they are called cloven-footed. Examples of this order are found 

 in the camel, lama, antelope, musk, deer, ox, sheep, and goat. 



The most distinguished attribute of the ruminating animals, 

 and that which gives to them their name, is the power of bringing 

 their food up into their mouths, after it has been once swallowed, 

 for the purpose of ,masticating it a second time. This power de- 

 pends upon the structure of their stomachs, of which there are 

 foui Of these the three first are so situated that the aliments 

 may be made to enter either of them at pleasure, as the oesophagus 

 terminates at a point where they all communicate together. 



These animals usually feed upon grass and herbage ; which 

 substances, after being slightly chewed, are carried irto the first 

 stomach, called the parmcA ; there they undergo but little change, 

 and are gradually transferred to the second stomach, a small glo- 

 bular cavity, called the bonnet, or king's hood, whose internal mem- 



