Buffon's Natural History. Volume 05 (of 10) / Containing a Theory of the Earth, a General History of Man, of the Brute Creation, and of Vegetables, Minerals, &c. &c

by comte de Georges Louis Leclerc Buffon

The horse eats slowly, but almost continually, the ox on the contrary, eats quick, and takes in a short time all the food which he requires; after which he lies down to ruminate. This difference arises from the different conformation of their stomachs. The ox, whose two first stomachs form but one vast bag, can, without inconvenience, receive a large quantity of grass, which afterwards, by chewing, digests at leisure. But the horse, whose stomach is single and small, can receive but a small quantity of grass, he therefore fills it in proportion as it digests, and passes into the intestines, where is performed the principal decomposition of the food. Having observed in the ox and the horse the successive product of digestion, but, above all, the decomposition of hay, I remarked in the ox, that at the entrance of that part of the paunch which forms the second stomach, it is reduced to a kind of green paste; that in this form it is retained in the plaits of the third stomach; that the decomposition is entire in the fourth stomach; and that scarcely any thing but the dregs passes into the intestines. In the horse on the contrary, the food is not decomposed at all, either in the stomach or in the first intestines, where it only becomes more flexible and supple, macerated with the liquor with which it is surrounded, it arrives at the cæcum and colon, without much alteration; it is principally in these two intestines, of which the enormous capacity answers to that of the paunch of ruminant cattle, that in the horse is performed the decomposition of the food; but this decomposition is never so entire as that which is made in the fourth stomach of the ox.

For these reasons, and from the inspection of the parts, it seems easy to conceive how chewing the cud is effected, and why the horse neither ruminates nor vomits. Chewing the cud is but a vomiting without straining, occasioned by the re-action of the first stomach upon what it contains. The ox fills his two first stomachs, or portions of the paunch. This membrane acts with force on the food it contains; it is chewed but a little, and its quantity is greatly increased by fermentation. Were the food liquid, this force of contraction would occasion it to pass into the third stomach, which communicates with the other by a narrow conveyance, the orifice of which is situated in the posterior part of the first, and almost as high as the [oe]sophagus; thus this conduit cannot admit the food, until it has become somewhat fluid. The dry parts, must, therefore, rise up again into the [oe]sophagus, the orifice of which is larger than that of the conduit; in fact, they go up again into the mouth, and the animal again chews and macerates them, imbibes them afresh with its saliva, and thus by degrees liquefies them sufficient to pass into the third stomach, where it is again macerated before it goes into the fourth; and it is in this last stomach that the decomposition of the hay is finished, which is there reduced to a perfect mucilage.

What chiefly confirms the truth of this explanation is, that as long as the animals suck, or are fed with milk and other liquid aliments, they do not chew the cud; and that they chew the cud much more in winter, when they are fed with dry food, than in summer, when they eat tender grass. In the horse, on the contrary, the stomach is small, the orifice of the [oe]sophagus is narrow; and that of the pylorus very large. This alone would render chewing the cud impossible, for the food contained in this little stomach, though perhaps more strongly compressed than in the stomach of the ox, does not mount upwards, since it can easily descend through the pylorus, which is very large; and it is not necessary that the hay should be reduced to a soft running paste, because the force of the contraction of the stomach pushes the aliment through when almost dry.

It is by this difference, then, that the ox chews the cud, and that the horse cannot perform this operation. But there is still another difference in the horse, which hinders him from chewing the cud, and is the reason why he cannot vomit; the passage of the [oe]sophagus being placed obliquely in the stomach, the membranes of which are very thick, makes a kind of gutter in them so oblique that it must close still more instead of opening by the convulsive motions of the stomach. Although this difference, as well as many others we observe in the conformation of the bodies of these animals, depend on their constant nature, nevertheless, there are in the development, more particularly in the soft parts, differences constantly in appearance, but which may, and actually do, vary from circumstances. The vast capaciousness of the ox’s paunch, for example, is not entirely owing to Nature; it is not of that size in its primitive conformation, but attains it by degrees, from the large quantity of aliment it receives; for, in the calf, which is not very young, but has eat no grass, the paunch is much smaller in proportion than in the ox. This capaciousness of the paunch proceeds, then, from the extension which is occasioned by the large quantity of aliments, of which I was well convinced by an experiment that appeared to me decisive. I brought up two lambs of the same age, one on bread, the other on grass, and when they were a year old, on opening them, I found the paunch of the lamb which had lived on grass was much larger than that which had lived on bread.

It is said that oxen which eat slowly are more capable of working than those which eat quick; that oxen fed on high and dry lands are more lively, vigorous, and healthy, than those which live on low and humid grounds; that they are all stronger when fed on dry hay than when fed with grass; that they meet with more difficulty on the change of climate than horses, and that, for this reason, oxen for the plough should never be purchased but in their own neighbourhood.

In winter, as oxen do nothing[F], it is sufficient to feed them on straw, with a little hay; but at the season they work they should have more hay than straw, likewise a little bran, or a few oats. If hay is scarce they should have fresh-cut grass, leaves of ash, elm, oak, &c. but this food should be given in a small quantity, because the excess of it, being what they are very fond of, occasion them to avoid bloody urine; but lucerne, saintfoine, lupins, turnips, boiled barley, &c. are very good for them, and as they never eat more than is necessary, they should always be supplied with as much as they will take. They should not be put to pasture till about the middle of May; they should be kept at pasture all the summer; and, about the middle of October they should be brought back to fodder, only observing not to change them too suddenly from green to dry food, or from dry to green, but to bring them to it by degrees.

[F] This is not the case in England, as in many counties the farmer, excepting in hard weather, finds it the best time to keep them in full employ.

Great heat incommodes this animal more perhaps than great cold. During summer they should be brought to work at day-break, taken to the stable, or left to feed in the woods, during the heat of the day, and not yoked again till three or four in the afternoon. In spring, winter, and autumn, they may be worked from eight or nine in the morning, till five or six in the evening. They do not require so much care as horses, yet to keep them healthy and vigorous they should be curried every day, and their hoofs carefully greased and washed; they should be taken to drink at least twice a day; they are fond of water that is fresh and cool, while the horse loves it muddy and luke-warm.

Nearly the same food and care are requisite for the cow as the ox; but the cow that suckles requires more particular attention, as well in the chusing as in the management. It is said, that black cows give the best milk, and that white cows give the most: but of whatever colour, she should be fleshy, have a brisk eye, and be light in her walk; she should be young, her milk plentiful, and of a good kind; she should be milked twice a day in summer, and once in winter; and, if we would increase the quantity, she must be fed with more succulent food than herbage.

Good milk is neither too thick, nor too thin; its consistence should be such, that a drop should preserve its roundness without running. In colour it should be of a beautiful white: that which is inclinable to blue or yellow is worth nothing; its taste should be sweet, without any bitterness or sourness. It is better in the month of May, and during the summer, than in winter; and it is never perfectly good but when the cow is of a proper age, and in good health. The milk of young heifers is too thick, that of old cows is too dry, and during the winter it is too thick. The milk of the cow is not good when she is in season, near her time, or has lately calved. In the third and fourth stomachs of the calves which suck, there are clots of curdled milk, which, dried in the air, serve to make runnet, and the longer it is kept the better it is, and it requires but a small quantity to make a great deal of cheese.