THE BULL. 



He eats very quick, and foon fills his fir ft ftomach, after which he lies down 

 to ruminate or chew the cud. The firft and fecond ftomachs may be 

 conlidered as continuations of the fame bag, and are very capacious. 

 The fecond chewing reduces the grafs to a fubftance not unlike 

 boiled lpinach, and in this form it is conveyed into the third ftomach, 

 where it continues for fome time, and is digefted ; the digeftion is not, 

 however, fully compleated till it is lodged in the fourth ftomach, from 

 which it defcends to the bowels. The contents of the firft and fecond 

 ftomachs are a collection of grafs and other vegetables, roughly macerated, 

 which foon begin to ferment, and in confequence fwell. The fecond ftomach 

 communicates with the third by an opening much fmaller than the gullet, 

 and not fufficiently wide for the pafl'age of the food in this ttate. As foon, 

 therefore, as the two firft ftomachs are diftended with food, they begin to 

 contract, or rather perform a kind of reaction. This reaction comp relies the 

 food, and makes it, as it were, endeavour to get out : now the gullet being 

 larger than the palfage between the fecond and third ftomachs, the preffure 

 of the ftomach necefiarily forces it up the gullet. The action of ruminating, 

 however, appears to be in a great meafure voluntary ; as animals of this kind 

 have a power of increafing the reaction of their ftomachs. After the food 

 has undergone a fecond maftication, it is reduced into a thin pulp, which 

 eafily palfes from the fecond to the third ftomach, where it is ftill further 

 macerated; from thence it patfes to the fourth, where it is reduced to a 

 perfed mucilage, every way prepared for being taken up by the lacteals, and 

 converted into nourifhment. What confirms this account of chewing: the 

 cud is, that, as long as thefe animals fuck or feed upon liquid aliment, they 

 never ruminate ; and in the winter, when they are obliged to feed upon hay 

 and other dry victuals, they ruminate more than when they feed upon frefh 

 grafs.. 



Bulls, Cows, and Oxen, are fond of licking themfelves, efpecially when 

 lying at reft. But this practice thould be prevented as much as portable ; for 

 as the hair, which they necefiarily lick off, is an indigeftible fubftance, it lies 

 in the ftomach or bowels, and is gradually coated by a glutinous fubftance, 

 and hardened by time into round ft ones, of confiderable bulk, which 



