422 



AMERICAN' CATTLE. 



"The first cut gives the mouth of a young steer fifteen 

 months old. 



"The second cut pre- 

 sents us with the curious 

 and diminutive appearance 

 of all the incisors in a hul- 

 look eighteen months old. 

 It would appear difficult 

 for him to obtain sufficient 

 Fifteen months. Eighteen months. food tO support himself 



in good condition. It is somewhat so, and it may be in a 

 great measure owing to these changes in the teeth, and the 

 difficulty of grazing, that young beasts are subject to so many 

 disorders from seven or eight months and upwards, and are so 

 often out of condition. They contrive, however, to make up for 

 this temporary disadvantage by diligence in feeding; and, to 

 allude for a moment to another animal, we have known many, 

 not only a broken-mouthed, but a toothless ewe thrive as well 

 as any of the flock, for she was grazing all the day, and rumi- 

 nating all night. 



"At this time, eighteen months old, the corner teeth will not 

 be more than half their natural size ; the center ones will be yet 

 more diminished ; and, as the cut very faithfully represents, the 

 vacuities between them will be almost equal to the width of the 

 teeth. The faces of the teeth also, such faces as remain, will be 

 lengthened ; the triangular mark will diminish, and principally in 

 the central teeth; while another, more or less deeply shaded, will 

 begin to appear around the original mark. 



"All this while, the second set of teeth, the permanent ones, 

 have been growing in their sockets, approaching towards the 

 gums; but not as is said to be generally the case with other 

 animals, and with the iiuman being in particular, pressing upon 

 the roots of the milk teeth, and causing them to be absorbed, 



