ACE 



plare to tlie permanent fet, and the l.ift temporaneous pjrindet' 

 diliippears. At live years old the tullit;-! in the hoi-fc uriiully 

 i-.ppcai-; at five and a half thcv arc completely out, and the 

 internal v.all of the corner nippers, which before was in- 

 Cj;iipltatlv formed, is now on a level with liic reU ; at this 

 period the incilive or nippers have all of them a cavity formed 

 in the ful)ftai:ec hclween the inner and outer wall-, and il is 

 the difappearancc of this that marks the ajfe. At fiK years 

 thule in the front nippers below arc filled up, the tiilhes are 

 likeu'ite fliirhtly blunted ; at feven years the mark or cavity 

 in the middle nippers is filled up, and the tulhes a little more 

 worn. At eight years old the corner nippers are likewile 

 plain, and the tallies are round and fliortencd. At this 

 period the horfe is faid to be a^cd, and to have loll his mark ; 

 but among ^ood judfjcs the teeth llill exhibit fufiicient indi- 

 cations. At nine the groove in the turtles is worn away 

 nearly, and the nippers become rather rounded ; at ten 

 thefe appearances are Hill ilronger ; at twelve the tuihcs only 

 exhibit a rounded Hump, the nippers pufli forward, become 

 yellow ; and as the age advances, appear tiiangular and ufu- 

 ally uneven. 



Moniieur St. Bel, the late profelTor of the Enghfti Veterinary 

 College, ufed to afTert, that after eight years the cavities in tlie 

 anterior or upper incifive teeth filled up with equal regularity; 

 tluis from eight to ten the front ones were filled up, from ten 

 to twelve the two middle, and from twelve to fourteen i'lofe 

 of the eorner ; but though fome pains have been taken t(J 

 alcertain this, it does not appear that the difappearancc of 

 tlie cavities in thefe teeth is attended with fulheient regu- 

 larity to warrant contidence. It is a cuftom with dilhoneft 

 dealers to draw the colts nippers, particularly the corner 

 ones, by which means the permanent let which are under- 

 neath, immediately appear, and the horfe is confidered much 

 older than he is ; but if the other appearances detailed here 

 are attended to, this may be readily detefted. See Plate 

 ■where the age from the appearance of the teeth is accu- 

 rately reprelcnted. See alfo Teeth, and Anatomy of 

 the Horfe. 



Age, in Hunting, is an article of confequence. — Deer, and 

 other beails of game, have different denominations accord- 

 ing to their age. 



The age of a hart, S:c. is chiefly judged of bv the furniture 

 of his head, which is annually enlarged both in height and 

 thicknefs, from the fecond to the eighth year, and then 

 continues nearly in equal beauty during the vigour of life. 

 But, when he grows old, /. e. fiom eight years forward, his 

 horns decline. 



The firil HEAD, called, in fallow deer, Iroches, and, in 

 red deer, pricks, does not come till the fecond vear of their 

 age: the next year, they bear four or fix fmall branches; 

 the fourth year, eight or ten ; the lifth, ten or twelve ; the 

 fixth, fourteen or fixteen ; the fcventh year they bear tlieir 

 heads beamed, branched and fumed, as much as ever they 

 will be. The number of antlers or palms is by no means 

 conftant, when the animal is in the highcft degree of vi- 

 gour and perfeftion ; for it varies according to the quan- 

 tity of nourifhment and repofe the animal has enjoyed, and 

 the fiz.e of the horns depends upon the fame caufe. The 

 huntfmen have feveral other marks, whereby to know an 

 old hart without feeing him ; as, the flot, entries, ahatures, 

 foils, fevvmets, gate, and fraying ports. Sec slot, &c. 



The age of other beafts that arc chafed, is ellimated by 

 their appearance : as a fox and a hare by their colour. In 

 birds of the game kind, it is ufually dilkinguifhed by the co- 

 Icur of the legs and wing-feathers. 



Age of neat cattle, viz. the ex, caw, and buU, i( known 



AGE 



by their tetih and horns ; but from long habit and the 



greater conveinence, the horns lire more ufually Ihidicd ; 

 but in that breed without horns, the teeth nuill be nearly 

 the fole criterion. The ox iias no upper incifive teeth, but 

 a few days after calving eight nijipcrs appear in the lower 

 jaw, which remain till ten inoilhs, when the fecond den- 

 tition conimences by the difplacement of the two front 

 teeth, to which fuccced two permanent ones, larger but ■* 



not fo white At 12 months, the grinders arc fome of 



them changed; at lyor 16 months, the incifive on each 

 fide next the front is changed ; at two years the third in- 

 cifive on each fide ; and at three years the corners are re- 

 placed by the permanent, which complete the fct. Thefe 

 are for the lirll years of the animal's life, even, long, 

 and white ; but in advanced age become ycllov.-, or black, 

 and uneven : between thefe periods all the grinders arc 

 changed. 



Tile horns are likewife a permanent, and a temporaneous 

 pair. The temporaneous pair are changed at the end of 

 three years, and the permanent pair appear Imall, fmooth, 

 and terminated at the end with a fmall tubercle or button. 

 In the following year this button grows from the head, 

 and tiie line of growth is marked by a horny circle ; the 

 horns continue grov. ing through lite, and every fuccceding 

 year adds a circle, fo that the age may be readily gained 

 by counting three years for the firll button, and an addi- 

 tional one for every remaining circle. 



Ac.F of fheep is learned likewife from the horns in thofe 

 which have them, in others from the teeth. M. liuffon fays 

 they have, in the third year, four broad teeth before, in the 

 fourth year fix broad teeth, and in their fitth year eight of 

 the fame kind : but our famicrs reckon, that when a fliccp 

 is one (hear, or year, it has two bioad teeth before, wlien 

 two fliear, it will have four ; when three (liear, fix ; and 

 when four (hear, or years, it will have eight. The age of 

 the horned fheep is moll conveniently lea-ned by the horns, 

 which ihew theinfelves in the firit year, foon after birth, 

 and are not changed, but continue to protrude a ring or 

 circle annually, as long as they live, fo that as many circles 

 as their horns prefent, fo many years are they old. In 

 goats, the teeth and horns follow tlie fame laws; and there- 

 fore their age may be learned in the lame way. 



Age of the moon, in Aflronainy, is underftood of the num- 

 ber of days elapfed fincc the lall conjunftion, or new moon ; 

 called alio her quarter. The method for dilcovering her 

 age is mentioned under the article moov. 



Age, in Law, is paiticularlv underllood of a certain 

 ftate or time in life, wherein a perlon is qualified lor certain 

 offices of civil fociety, of which before, for want of years and 

 dilcretion, he was incapable. 



By the Roman law we find different ages afcertained for 

 different purpofcs ; as, confdar age, or that wherein a per- 

 fon might regularly hold the confulfhip, which wai the 

 43d year, fo that he might fue for it in the 42d. Where 

 it is to be obfervcd, that it was not necellaiy either of 

 thofe years ftiould be expired, but only begun : befides, 

 that men of extraordinary merit towards the republic, 

 were in this matter exempt from the ordinary laws. Hence 

 Corvinus was conful at 23 years. Scipio jEmilianus at 

 36, and Pompey at 35 : others broke through the laws 

 bv violence, as Caius Marius the younger, and Oclavius 

 Cxfar, who procured themfelves to be made consuls, be- 

 fore 20 years of age. Machiav. Difc. in Liv. lib. i. c. 60. 

 p. 210. 



J'uiUcieiry age, or that wherein a perfon was capable of 

 fitting as judge, was not always the ^rae ) for by the 



