406 



Professor Flower 



[May 7, 



and other structures, but an arrest of their development, so that they 

 remain permanently in a stunted or atrophied condition. The altera- 

 tions of form consist in two distinct processes : 1, bending the four 

 outer toes under the sole of the foot, so that the first or great toe alone 

 retains its normal position, and a narrow point is produced in front ; 

 2, compressing the roots of the toes and the heel downwards and 

 towards one another so as greatly to shorten the foot, and produce a 

 deep transverse fold in the middle of the sole (Fig. 14). The whole 

 has now the appearance of the hoof of some animal rather than a 

 human foot, and affords a very inefficient organ of support, as the 

 peculiar tottering gait of those possessing it, clearly shows. 



But strange as this custom seems to us, it is only a slight step in 

 excess of what the majority of people in Europe subject themselves 

 and their children to. From personal observation of a large number 

 of feet of persons of all ages and of all classes of society in our own 

 country, I do not hesitate to say that there are very few, if any, to be 



Fig. 13. 



Fig. 14. 



Sole of Chinese 

 Woman's Foot. 



Section of Natural Foot with the Bones, and a corre- 

 sponding section of a Chinese Deformed Foot. The outline 

 of the latter is dotted, and the bones shaded. 



met with that do not, in some degree, bear evidence of having been 

 subjected to a compressing influence more or less injurious. Let any- 

 one take the trouble to inquire into what a foot ought to be. For 

 external form look at any of the antique models — the nude Hercules 

 Farnese or the sandalled Apollo Belvidere ; watch the beautiful free- 

 dom of motion in the wide-spreading toes of an infant ; consider the 

 wonderful mechanical contrivances for combining strength with 

 mobility, firmness with flexibility ; the numerous bones, articulations, 

 ligaments ; the great toe, with seven special muscles to give it that 

 versatility of motion which was intended that it should possess — and 



