HOW ANIMALS EAT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 16 June 1926, Page 6

HOW ANIMALS EAT

NATURE'S PROVISION

DIFFERENTLY-FORMED ORGANS

Tho various farm " animals are each furnished with differently-formed organs by which food is grasped, conducted into the mouth/and then masticated, By Such' provisions (says tho Livo Stock Journal) many animals of different kinds originally were enabled to live in the same pasture or feeding territories. Were all to feed in exactly tho same way, sustenance would quickly become exhausted. Do all take their'food in exactly the same way? What are the differences, if any? Are all similarly equipped with teeth? Do all use the lip's and tongue in like, manner j 5 Is the lining of the month in each identical? Tho cow has somewhat thick, immobile lips, whereas the sheep, which is also a ruminant animal, has yery mobile lips, and the upper one is cleft. The cleft lip enables tho sheep to get its teeth right down on the surface to nibble the shortest, sweetest grass. Tho cow does not use her lips to any great extent in feeding as does the horse. She. grasps bunches of grass with her tongue, draws them into__hcr mouth, jerks them off, and chew's them slightly, tor they later have to be brought uj> and re-chewed. The cow has eight incisor teeth in the lower jaw only, whereas the horse has six above and below. In the cow and the sheep the upper row of incisors is absent, but instead there is a pad or cushion of gristlo against which the lower incisors hold the grass while it is being torn off. The incisors of the cow normally are somewhat loose, and they are directly forward or almost horizontally placed in the mouth. Were this not the.case they would cut the dental pad'.above. Not aware ,that a cow's incisors are normally Joo.se, many an owner has, on examination, erroneously concluded that a diseased condition is present.

The cow's tongue is very rough, and so are the cheeks. On the contrary, the cheeks and tongue of the horno are smooth. Studding the cow's cheeks arc long projections, or papillae, and the tongue and front parts of the hard palate are fitted with saw-like projections. These are part of the equipment possessed by cows to make perfect mastication possible. Looking further into the cow's mouth, it will be noted that the soft palate does not hang down and prevent breathing from the mouth, as in the case of the horse. There is a cartilaginous ring around thoisnout of the pig, and the snout contains a special bone not present in other animals, these are the provisions for rooting lo obtain food below the surface of the ground. It is also interesting to watch how animals chew. The dog quickly cuts meat to pieces and gulps it down. The horse chews slowly and very thoroughly in scissors-like fashion, and largely by lateral action. The cow masticates by longitudinal, transverse, and vertical motions. These points will serve for a start in the close examination of animals, and if beginners would look for the things mentioned they would soon become interested in the multitude of other matters to be leared by study, keen observation and comparison.