CHAPTER XL 



DISEASES OF DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 



Digestive disturbances among cattle are very 

 common and are usually the result of some error 

 in the quantity, the quality or the manner of 

 feeding. The cow has four stomachs or^ rather, 

 four separate compartments of the stomach. The 

 paunch, which is the largest, is the receptacle that 

 holds the food as it is first swallowed, and will 

 hold as much as 60 gallons. This is a reservoir 

 for the food that is eaten by the cow and is 

 afterward remasticated. This remastication is 

 the process that is going on while the cow is 

 "chewing her cud," and is also known as "rumi- 

 nating." 



The first three compartments of the stomach 

 are of value only in preparing the food for diges - 

 tion which really takes place in the fourth part 

 of the stomach, or the true stomach. The third 

 part of the stomach is arranged like the leaves in 

 a book and, after the food has been remasticated, 

 it passes into this third compartment and is 

 pressed and strained into the fourth stomach 

 where the true digestive process takes place. 

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