374 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Dec, 
That the time required for the digestion of food is 
various, depending upon the quantity and quality of 
the food, state of the stomach, See.,* but that the time 
ordinarily required for the disposal of a moderate meal 
of the fibrous parts of meat, with bread, &c., is from 
three to three and a half hours. 
That stimulating condiments are injurious to the 
healthy stomach. 
That the use of ardent spirits always produces disease 
of the stomach, if persevered in. 
That the natural temperature of the stomach is 100 
deg. Fahrenheit. 
That exercise elevates the temperature; and that 
sleep or rest in a recumbent position, depresses it. 
That the agent of chymification is the gastric juice. 
That it acts as a solvent of food, and alters its pro¬ 
perties. 
That it contains free muriatic acid and some other 
active chemical principles. 
That gentle exercise facilitates the digestion of 
food. 
That the motions of the stomach produce a constant 
churning of its contents, and admixture of food and 
gastric juice. 
That these motions are in two directions, transverse¬ 
ly and longitudinally. 
That no other fluid produces the same effect, on food 
that gastric juice does; and that it is the only solvent 
of aliment. 
This book may not be entirely new to all our read¬ 
ers, as it is several years since the first edition was 
published; but we recommend it as an interesting and 
instructive work to such as are not already familiar 
with the subject on which it treats. A few copies for 
sale at this office. 
AGE OF CATTLE AND SHEEP. 
It is generally supposed that the age of cattle and 
sheep can be accurately determined by the teeth, till 
after they are five years.old. These animals, as near¬ 
ly every farmer knows, have at their birth, or. shortly 
afterwards, eight incisor or front teeth in the lower 
jaw, called milk teeth , which at various periods fall out 
and are replaced by others called permanent teeth. 
The common theory in relation to this change is, that 
the two centre teeth are dropped soon after the animal 
is a year old, and are followed by two permanent teeth 
which reach their full size about the time the animal 
is two years old; that two other milk teeth, (one on 
each side of the two permanent teeth which first ap¬ 
pear,) are dropped each succeeding year, and are fol¬ 
lowed by permanent ones, till all the milk teeth are 
gone, and the animal becomes “ full mouthed,” as it is 
called, at five years old. 
Observation long since convinced us that this rule 
does not afford a sure criterion of the age of these ani¬ 
mals. We have known several instances where cattle 
and sheep were, from their teeth, supposed to be from 
one to two years older than they really were. The cir¬ 
cumstance has frequently led to difficulty, especially in 
awarding premiums, the idea being entertained that 
there was some mistake or intended deception in re¬ 
gard to the age. 
A few years ago, an individual in the state of Ohio, 
purchased of a highly respectable breeder in New- 
York, a fine three-year-old Durham bull. On his ar¬ 
rival in Ohio, he was exhibited at a cattle-show, where 
he was examined by many persons, several of whom, 
on looking at his teeth, declared him to be five years 
old. It was in vain that a certificate, in the hand¬ 
writing of the breeder was shown, stating him to be 
but three years old—it would not satisfy the critics, 
who insisted that there had either been collusion in re¬ 
gard to the bull’s age, or else the purchaser had “ got 
Yankeed .” Yet the testimony of the breeder, we pre¬ 
sume, would have been regarded as sufficient in a court 
of law, to establish the fact of the animal being but 
three years old; and there was nothing, except the ap¬ 
pearance of the teeth, to indicate that he was older. 
Cases of the same kind might be cited in regard to 
sheep; and several farmers and breeders have assured 
us that good or bad feeding will frequently cause a va¬ 
riation of a year in the appearance of their teeth. 
A French veterinary journal has lately brought out 
some valuable facts in relation to this subject. It ap¬ 
pears that on the 15th of April, 1846, an agent of the 
government purchased a two-year-old Durham bull, at 
the dairy of the Royal Stud, at Pin. Shortly after the 
purchase, the bull was exhibited for a premium, but 
the judges refused to award him the prize, it having 
been specified that the animal should be but two years 
old, and they, believing this one to be four years old 
and upwards, as he had all his permanent teeth. The 
decision, as may well be supposed, created some stir, 
and to settle the point in dispute, letters were ad¬ 
dressed respectively, to the Directors of the Royal 
Dairy at Pin and Poussery, containing the following 
questions: 
11 1. Are there in the dairy over which you preside, 
cows or bulls which have cut the whole of their per¬ 
manent teeth prior to their fifth year, and how many? 
2. Are there any which have cut all prior to their 
fourth year ? 
3. Are there any which have cut their teeth ear¬ 
lier? 
4. At what medium age, according to your per¬ 
sonal observation, do Durham oxen, bulls especially, 
shed the whole of their milk teeth ?” 
The answers to these questions by each of the Direc¬ 
tors, showed that in each of the Royal Dairies there 
were ten animals, viz., at Pin, one bull and nine cows, 
and at Poussery, two bulls and eight cows,—which 
had cut the whole of their permanent teeth prior to 
their fifth year; that in the latter case all the animals 
had their permanent teeth prior to their fourth year, 
and that in the dairy at Pin, there were seven animals 
—-one bull and six cows—in the same case; that at 
Pin there were four cows, and at Poussery one bull, 
which had cut all their permanent teeth before they 
were three years old. A case of a cow at Poussery is 
mentioned, which at two years and seven months old, 
had six permanent teeth, and two months after, that 
is, at two years find nine months, had put out her cor¬ 
ner teeth, making the full number of permanent ones. 
The date of the birth of most of these animals is given, 
copied from the registers kept at the establishments, 
so that there is hardly a possibility that there could 
be any mistake. The Directors further state that the 
cattle of the Durham breed, kept at the dairies under 
their charge, usually shed the whole of their milk teeth 
between their third and fourth years. 
The variation in the time at which cattle and sheep 
shed their first teeth, is attributable to two causes— 
the natural constitution of the animal, and the manner 
in which it has been fed and reared. Some animals, 
from these causes, reach maturity much sooner than 
others, and their dental organs, sharing equally in the 
precocity of the system, exhibit the condition which 
belongs to those of older animals, which are longer in 
arriving at their full growth. 
We respectfully commend the above remarks to the 
attention of breeders of animals, confident that obser¬ 
vation will fully confirm the correctness of the conclu¬ 
sions put forth. 
Provide good shelter and proper food for all ani¬ 
mals. 
