352 On the Teeth of the Ox, Sheep, and Pig, 
Fig. i9.* 
ultimate amount of this diminution, as well as the rate of its 
progress, will much depend on the management of the animal and 
the food on which he is kept. The coarser the food and the 
more the pig has to shift for himself, the greater will be the 
wear of these teeth, and the shorter consequently will they 
become. The other changes marking the attainment of six 
months of age belong to the molar teeth, but in a practical 
point of they are of the first importance. 
About this time, in most animals, but not in all, a small tooth 
comes up on either side of the lower jaw behind the temporary 
tushes, between them and the molars, and in the upper jaw 
directly in front of the molars. These teeth have a very pointed 
appearance (see p. m., fig. 49), 
and have in consequence not 
unfrequently been mistaken for 
the permanent tushes, especi- 
ally in the lower jaw. Tlie pig 
has therefore been thought to 
be older than he really is, and 
objections have been taken to 
the correctness of the owner's 
certificate. An error of this 
kind is more likely should the 
temporary tushes be either 
broken off near the gum or 
worn away — circumstances of 
very common occurrence in 
pigs of this age. 
Many persons who call them- 
selves practical have asserted 
that the pig cuts his tush at six 
months. Such, however, is not 
the case. As we have seen, 
it is these premolars which 
have been mistaken for the 
tushes. 
Other interesting particulars 
likewise belong to these teeth. 
Professor Owen has applied 
the term premolars to the teeth 
wliich succeed the temporary 
molars. He limits the ordinary 
* Fig. 49 gives a lateral view of the lower jaw of a pig six months old. P. M., 
the premolar ; 4 M. the fourth molar iu situation, but the first permanent which 
is put up. 
