Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-03-23

WHOLE GhAlh.
norton 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 caroohy-
drates are used to furnish energy and
heat. They are the fuel Of the body.
by uniting with oxygen they give OH
the heat and energy required to keep
the body running, in much the same
wa.y that the elements Of coal or wood
unite with oxygen to furnish heat ana
power when buried in a 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
90 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 a
mouthful Of grass, breaking 1t of with
a 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 it off between
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 it is chewed and mixed with
saliva. This saliva serves two pur-
poses-to moisten the food and to
change some of the starch to sugar.
This change is brought about by the
action of engines which the saliva
contains. These work IN the same way
as do the engines in a terminating
seed, which prepare the food for the
little plant.
Sugar and starch, as we have learn
ed, are both composed Of carbon, hy-
drogen and oxygen, the only difference
being that they are put together in a
little different way. The action Of the
engines changes the relation Of these
elements in the starch, arranging them
in such a manner as to form sugar.
All the starch in the food must be
changed to some form Of sugar be-
fore it can be used by the animal In
building up the various parts Of its
body. Since the food remains in the
mouth only a comparatively shor,
time, however, only small part Of the
starch can be acted upon there. The
rest is changed later, as we shall see.
The main purpose Of the saliva is
to moisten the food. This moistening
together with the chewing, reduces 1t to
moist, finely divided mass, ready to
be swallowed and acted upon by the
other digestive juices.
While the essential processes of di-
gestion are the same for all animals
the way in which the work is carried
on varies somewhat. The horse and
the hog have but one stomach. AS
the food enters this churning mo-
ton begins, which gradually forces
the partially digested mass along to.
ward the lower end. The saliva con-
tinues to act on the starch, and anoth-
er fluid, the gastric juice, is poured
out from the walls Of the stomach
The main duty Of this gastric juice is
to change the albuminoids into form
in which they can be absorbed ant
used by the animal
Cattle and sheep have very large
stomach, which is divided into foul
parts Animals of this kind are called
ruminants When the food is swallow
ed it passes into the first stomach
which serves the purpose of store
house. Here the action of the saliva
continues, and the water which the
animal drinks softens the food to g
considerable extent. After a time the
food passes into the second stomach
which forces it back to the mouth, g
little at a time. Here it is chewet
thoroughly. You have often seer
cows lying in the shade chewing
their cud" This cud is the food tha
has been sent up to the mouth by the
second stomach.
After being chewed the food is swal'
lowed again. This time it passes di'
rectly through the first stomach to th'
third. Here it becomes still further
softened finally passing into the
fourth or true stomach. The function