of the Animals of the Farm. 
391 
be content to form an opinion from the mere cursory inspection 
of the signs which are most readily observed ; but the pro- 
fessional examiner is expected to take advantage of all the evi- 
dence which he can obtain by a critical inspection of molars 
and incisors, and he is further required to realise the undoubted 
fact that in some animals at certain periods of dentition the molar 
teeth afford more certain indications of age than the incisors. 
As this paper aims at dealing with a purely practical question 
in a perfectly simple and practical manner, it is not intended 
to touch upon the structure and development of teeth, in fact 
such a proceeding is rendered unnecessary by the exhaustive 
remarks with which Professor Simonds introduced the subject 
of dentition in his lecture, which was published in the ' Journal 
of the Royal Agricultural Society ' in 1854. It is, however, 
necessary to refer to the peculiar conformation of the incisor 
teeth, which differ in several important particulars from^those 
of the other animals of the farm. 
In the figure (No. 1) the temporary and permanent incisors 
Fig. 1. — Permanent and Temporary Incisors of Horse. 
A. Permanent. 
are depicted side by side of the natural size, and in each the 
following parts may be distinguished. First, the crown of 
the tooth, which projects above the gum ; the neck, which is 
encircled by the gum ; and the fang, which is lodged in its 
appropriate socket in the jaw. 
