84 THE ADVENT (JRES OF A GENTLEMAN 



hopeless to convey a correct idea of them without 

 the aid of a preparation ; and almost every veterinary 

 surgeon will give a more accurate knowledge of 

 them in five minutes, by the assistance of his speci- 

 mens, than the most elaborate written explanation 

 can eiFect. 



To complete this general description of the foot, 

 it only remains to notice that, between the surface of 

 the coffin bone and the interior surface of the crust, 

 there are an immense number of horny laminae, of a 

 cartilaginous nature, radiating from the base of the 

 hoof towards the coronet, the object of which is to 

 contribute to the elasticity of the tread ; so anxiously 

 has nature provided in every part of this useful 

 animal, to adjust his physical structure to that severe 

 and peculiar exertion which is required by the labor 

 to which he is subjected. The remark which I have 

 already made on this point cannot be too strongly 

 impressed on the mind ; that this excess of precau- 

 tion in the natural arrangement of the foot, to guard 

 it against the jar of violent concussion, should guide 

 the farrier to observe it as a principle in shoeing that 

 its elasticity is to be preserved to the utmost extent 

 possible, consistently with the protection which the 

 iron is intended to give to the crust. 



