rRIXCU'LES OF SUCKING. 461 



A't'tcrliiary Surgeuiis, evou the must skilled, with the "greatest possible 

 cure may fail to detect latent defects, and it seems unreasonable that 

 juries should hold them pecuniarily responsible. The medical man who 

 makes a mistake with the i)atient who consults him is not so held resj)on- 

 sible : or take another case, which is perhaps more closely allied to the 

 examination of horses for soundness. An insurance office em{)loys a 

 medical man to report on the constitutional and probable longevity of a 

 ]>erson wishinj; to be insured. The medical man is not held by the 

 insurance office to be pecuniarily responsible, if he makes a mistake in 

 his diagnosis and the })erson insured dies shortly afterwards. 



CllAPTEH G-J. 



PKlXCirLES OF SHOEING. 



Plates 17 to j7. Tlic figures are consecutive throughout these Plates. 



940. General jn-incijihs. 941. Structure «/ the Foot. 942. The outer 

 case of the Foot. 943. The Cruet or Wall. 944. Effect of rasphuj on the 

 Crust. 9i5. Why then do farriers rasp f i>46. Of lowering the Crust 

 versus rasping its external surface. 947. Prevention of splitting of the 

 Crust after being lowered. 9i8. The Bars. 9i9. The Sole. 950. Of 

 undue pressure on the sensitive Sole, as a result of paring. 951. Of undue 

 pressure on the sensitive Sole from mutilation of the Crust. 952. The 

 Frog. *J5S. Cleanliness. 954-. Shape of the Foot. 955. Size of the Feet. 

 956. Feet to he jyairs. 957. Contraction and expansion of the Foot. 958. 

 Conclusion. 



940. Principles of Shoeing. 



I SHALL dismiss for the present all questions of })urticular patterns of 

 Shoes,- — though I have my own j^reference. At the outset I shall treat 

 only of that which is essential to all good shoeing, namely, the preserva- 

 tion of the foot in a sound and healthy state. 



Certain sorts of shoes may be adjuncts to good shoeing, but they are 

 }iut absolutely essential to it. AVithout a healthy foot any sort of shoe 

 will more or less fail. With a healthy foot, most sorts of shoes will 

 answer tolerabh' well. I attach far more importance to the treatment of 

 the foot than I do to the shoe. 



One great principle runs through all good shoeing, namely, the pre- 

 servation of the outer case of the foot ; this includes — 



1st. The preservation of the Crust and Bars whole and entire. 



I'nd. The preservation of the Sole. 



3rd. The preservation of the Frog. 



941. Structure of the Foot. 



The Foot is a sensitive vascular structure Avith a bone, or rather two 

 bones and a portion of a third, enclosed within its outer case. 



