The Angle and Length of Foot 245 



science and art where it ought to be." What is empiricism but a set 

 practice based on each man's limited experience, a practice often 

 founded on erroneous suppositions and an experience gathered from 

 inexact observations ! 



By balance he means "the perfect adjustment of the shoe in the 

 fore and aft direction/' and he should have included in that statement 

 the very thing which Fig. 182 illustrates, namely, the toe length and 

 the angle of the foot. 



Leveling to the "white line," a proper horizontal surface of sole 

 from side to side and finally the requisite toe and heel these are the 

 three important principles of paring the foot. On these are based the 

 averages of the measurements given by me, since they form the safest 

 indications of balance, or the lack of it. 



It should at all times be remembered that balance is not a fixed 

 quantity, but exists absolutely for a short time only. The growing 

 foot and the wear of the shoe soon make of it a questionable condi- 

 tion more likely to cause disturbances rather than improvements. 



It has come under my observation quite frequently that hoofs de- 

 velop or grow unequally, not only with regard to each other, but also 

 with regard to the growth at the toe and at the heel. It is easy to find 

 this out if the calipers and the hoof gauge are applied to the hoof 

 immediately after the shoe has been taken off and the data of its toe 

 length and its angle be compared with the data of the last shoeing, 

 or the exact condition of the foot before the shoe was put on. It is 

 well worth while to make these comparisons, as they enable us to allow 

 for such a difference of growth and to be on the lookout for re- 

 sulting irregularities of gait. 



Reference is here made to the case discussed under Figs. 131, 132 

 and 133, where the near hind foot showed an angle of 52 while the 

 off hind measured 55. While the off hind looked like a club foot at 

 first on account of its steep angle, it did not prove to be one. It was 

 simply a case where the work had been done by the eye instead of by 

 the gauge. 



Other similar cases where no care had been used came under my 



