92 HOUSE AND MAN. 



iron have been employed. He has yet at his com- 

 mand the scissors and the rasp. 



The reader will remember that the wall of the 

 hoof is secreted from the coronary ring, or band, 

 which is necessarily a vascular and consequently a 

 sensitive structure, and the blood, by passing through 

 it, is converted, by a chemical process far beyond 

 the reach of man, into horny fibres. It is, in fact, 

 analogous to the root of the human nail. In order 

 that this structure shall be protected from rain, snow, 

 and wind, it is furnished with a sort of a roof or 

 penthouse of hair. For some reason or other, the 

 farrier dislikes this covering, and therefore cuts it 

 away with his scissors. 



Then the rasp has its turn. First, the man 

 goes round the edge of the hoof, so as to file the 

 hoof level with the shoe. It is so easy to do this, 

 that one writer on horseshoeing, being aware that 

 the farrier will rasp the edge out of mere habit, 

 recommends that the shoe should be made a little 

 larger than is needful, so that the shoe may be filed 

 level with the hoof, and not vice versa, as is mostly 

 the case. 



Having filed all round the hoof, the farrier next 

 thinks it necessary to go over the entire surface. 



Nature has covered the hoof with a sort of 

 shining varnish, which permits the passage of air, 



