The Digestive System. 33 



surface (upper) is known as the table of the tooth, and 

 it is on the tables of tlie front teeth (incisors) that the 

 various marks are seen which are treated of when dis- 

 cussing the age of a horse. As to kinds of teeth there 

 are two, classifying them according to their construc- 

 tion, viz.: Simple, e. g.. the nippers or incisors, and the 

 tusks or tushes canines; Compound, the grinders (molars). 

 The teeth will be considered according to their location, 

 hence three sets — those at the front, nippers or incisors, 

 the tushes or can in/ s, and the back teeth, known as the 

 grinders or molars. 



The incisor teeth in horses, cattle and sheep are made 

 use of by the stockman to determine the age of the ani- 

 mal, by taking into consideration the time of appearance 

 of those teeth, the amount of wear shown on their tables 

 and by their shape. 



On the tables of the incisors the enamel forms a depres- 

 sion known as the cap or cusp, which is filled with the 

 tooth cement, generally discolored by the food, thus ac- 

 counting for the black mark found in the cup. "When an 

 incisor has been in use for some time its table (wearing 

 surface) presents two irregular rings of enamel, an outer 

 and an inner one. The inner ring surrounds the cup 

 (cusp); the dental star (so-called) is a spot on the tables 

 found at certain periods between the cup and the front 

 edge of the tooth. The tusks or canines are not always 

 present, rarely in the mare, in fact these teeth are con- 

 sidered as a mark of masculinity. In cattle and Sheep 

 there are no upper incisors, as has been mentioned; the 

 incisor teeth in cattle especially are cpiite loose in their 



sockets. 

 3 



