OF RUMINANTS. 
161 
still hard and fibrous, being detained in the manyplus to be ex¬ 
posed to trituration between the roughened leaves of that stomach, 
or, as it were, a third mastication. 
How far the will of the animal may be here concerned we can¬ 
not say; the whole seems a kind of natural process, and the 
animal unconsciously adapts the muscular power of the oesopha¬ 
gus and the cesophagean canal to the accomplishment of this 
second purpose, the passage of the food no longer into the first 
but into the fourth stomach. The muscular pillars forming the 
floor of this canal may at the same time contract, and be held in 
firmer apposition to each other, so that the food shall not break 
through and enter the rumen. 
What is true of the pultaceous mass which had undergone 
the process of rumination, is still more applicable to the fluid 
part of the aliment that glides down, little assisted or propelled 
by the muscles of the oesophagus: it falls with less momentum, 
the fleshy pillars remain in contact, and the liquid flows on 
through the manyplus, and into the abomasum. 
This accounts for the circumstance mentioned by Mr. Sum¬ 
ner, “ that the medicine which he gave had not entered the 
first, second, or third stomach, as the meat in them was of a 
green colour, and rather soft, but the contents of the fourth was 
the same colour as the medicine, and very thin.” Here again no 
one can affirm how much or how little the will of the animal is 
concerned. Very little indeed we are inclined to imagine, or 
perhaps not at all. Yet we can believe that by a forcible gulp, 
or strong action of the cesophagean muscles, the fleshy bands of 
the floor of its continuation may be relaxed, a portion of fluid may 
break through the floor, and enter the rumen. There is occa¬ 
sionally more fluid in the rumen than could be extracted from 
the grassy food with which it is filled. As for the food or medi¬ 
cine being directed into what stomach the animal pleases, this 
is quite erroneous, although Hr. Monro’s is a great name. Our 
correspondent, however, will very easily collect, from what has 
been just stated, an answer to his question, as to what is to be 
done with regard to sending medicine into these stomachs. 
\V hatever may be the case with the animal, he at least has the 
power of sending his medicine where he pleases. A ball will go 
VOL. V. Z 
