In the above engraving the teeth are seen to be ranged almost in a line, which is the form they have a disposition to take at this great age. The appearance, here delineated, is more true than the foregoing in its general character, the infundibula being entirely worn out; for the specks in the centre of the tables show, not the remains of the last portion of the marks, but the exposure of the upper extremity of what once was the cavity of the pulp. In the next wood-cut, however, which depicts the tables of the teeth which were in the jaw of a horse, that had reached its thirtieth year, and from which the drawing for the coloured engraving was made, displays a portion of the infundibulum still retained in the corner incisor. The true character of age nevertheless is conspicuous in the form of the tables. [Illustration: _THIRTY YEARS OLD._ _The jaw contracted. The lower teeth not seen when the upper are in view._] [Illustration: _SIXTEEN YEARS OLD._ _Viewed from the side, only two Incisors can be seen in the lower jaw._] [Illustration] Such contradictory indications admit of being to a certain degree reconciled. The representations of the tables are correctly given, but, in the living mouths, these were corrected by the appearances of the teeth themselves. The incisors of the horse which was twenty-eight years old had suffered but little wear. An unusual degree of hardness, or an extraordinary power of self-preservation, contributed to keep them, so far as the tables were concerned, in appearance, young, long after the season of youth had passed. Almost from the fifth year the tables would seem to have suffered but a very gradual change; for even when twenty-eight, these parts do not indicate the horse to be more than "aged." The absence of wear may, in some measure, be attributed to the kind of food which the animal had consumed, it having been chiefly fed from the manger; and also to its being of a quiet disposition, or not inclined to bite and snap when the groom was dressing it. The want of wear, however, did not necessitate the cessation of growth, which went on at the natural rate; therefore, though the tables had a very youthful look, the teeth were, nevertheless, unusually long, and gave to the mouth a decided appearance of age. Their colour, and the removal of almost every vestige of the crusta petrosa, together with the general appearance of the horse, was sufficient to awaken those suspicions which would warn the practitioner. The eccentricities, however, which particular parts can exhibit, will teach the student, that a conclusion should only be drawn from observation and comparison of all the various signs which the teeth present. No sign can be singly relied on; but, by weighing the evidence, and placing the contradictory indications in opposition, something approaching to truth may, even in extreme age, be deduced; though such deductions, for obvious reasons, ought to be