Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1909-02-23

buminoids also form considerable
portion of these parts of the body.
Their chief use, however, Is IN build
ing up the muscles, tissues and vari-
Gus organs The fats and carbohy
drates are used to furnish energy and
heat. They are the fuel of the body.
BY uniting with oxygen they give off the
heat and energy required to keep the
body running, in much the same way
that the elements Of coal or wood
unite with oxygen to furnish heat and
power when burned III steam engine
Not all Of the fats and carbohydrates
are burned Immediately, however.
Some of the fats go to build up fatty
tissues. Some of the carbohydrates
are changed to fats and used In the
same way, and some are stored In the
liver in the form of glycogen to be
used when needed.
Before these various food elements
can be used by the animal they must
20 through a process called digestion.
The first step in digestion consists In
taking the food into the mouth. Each
class Of animals has different way
of doing this. Watch the cows feed
ing in the pasture. They reach out
their long tongues and gather IN d
mouthful of grass, breaking 1t off with
q peculiar twist as it comes against
their lower teeth They cannot bite II
off, since they have no upper teeth
in front. The horse gathers In the
grass with his lips and bites 1t off be
tween his teeth. For this reason
horses can eat grass down much closer
to the ground than cattle can.
After the food is taken into the
mouth 1t Is chewed and mixed witt
saliva. This saliva serves two pur
poses-to moisten the food and tt
change some Of the starch to sugar
This change is brought about by thu
action Of engines which the saliv'
contains. These work In the same
way as do the engines in GERM
mating seed, which prepare the foot
for the little plant.
Sugar and starch, as we have learn
ed are both composed Of carbon, by
drogen and oxygen, the only differ
ence being that they are put togethe
in little different way. The actiol
of the engines changes the relation
of these elements in the starch, al
ranging them in such manner as t
form sugar.
AL! the starch in the food must b
changed to some form OF sugar be
fore 1t can be used by the animal i
building up the various parts of 1t
body. Since the food remains IN tn
mouth only comparatively shol
time, however, only a small part of tn
starch can be acted upon there. Th
rest is changed later, as we shall see.
The main purpose of the saliva Is
moisten the food. This moistening. t.
gether with the chewing reduces it
q moist, finely divided mass, read
to be swallowed and acted upon b
the other digestive juices.
While the essential processes of
gestiOn are the same for all animal
the way in which the work is carrie
on varies somewhat. The horse an
the hog have but one stomach.
the food enters this churniHg M
ton begins, which gradually force
the partially digested mass along t
, ward the lower end. The saliva COZ
tinues to act on the starch. and anot'
er fluid, the gastric juice, is poure
out from the walls of the stOmac
The main duty Of this gastric juice
to change the albuminoids into for
r in which they can be absorbed al
: used by the animal.
e Cattle and sheep have very lar'
l stomach, which is divided into fol
J, parts. Animals of this kind are call'
o ruminants. When the food is swallo'
y ed it passes into the first stomac
=, =, which serves the purpose Of stor
h house. Here the action of the salt
- continues, and the water which Il
J, animal drinks softens the food to
It considerable extent. After time L
!. food passes into the second stomac
:. which forces it back to the mouth,
little at a time. Here 1t is chew