EUMINANTS AND THEIK DISTEIBITTION. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



EUMINANTS AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION. 



From early times we find tlie function of ruminating, or 

 " chewing the cud," recognized as a peculiarity of the 

 group of mammals known in semi-popular language as 

 ruminants. In " Deuteronomy," for instance, the animals 

 permitted for food are those that " chew the cud and part 

 the hoof " ; while the swine, " which part the hoof but do 

 not chew the cud," are forbidden. On the other hand, 

 the camel, which chews the cud but has not paired hoofs, 

 is in the forbidden list. In the permitted animals we 

 thus have a recognition of the group of ruminants as 

 represented by oxen, sheep, and deer ; of which no better 

 short definition can be given than that they chew the 

 cud and have each foot furnished with a pair of hoofs 

 symmetrical to a vertical line between them. The want of 

 the paired hoofs in the camels, which are also cud-chewers, 

 show, however, that these two characteristics will not hold 

 good for the entire group. As we proceed, we sball find 

 that there are structural features, common to the group, 

 in addition to the peculiarity of rumination ; but before 

 going further, we m.ay observe that the recognition of 

 their paired hoofs, coupled with the absence of rumination, 

 is an exact statement of the relationship of the swine to 

 the true ruminants. 



The word "ruminant" comes from the Latin runien, 

 which was applied both to tlie " cud " and to that part of 

 the stomach in which the latter is contained previous to 

 chewing. The G-reeks had a word meruko or meruhizo 

 (from memo, to revolve), to express this action of cud- 

 chewing, and a derivative from the former was used 

 by Aristotle to designate ruminants, who thus first 

 distinguished tho group by a definite name. This early 

 recognition of the ruminants as a group is probably due 

 to their importance to man, the BiV>lical record showing 



