1837] 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



297 



6oIe; but in hoavy liorses it increased tiie predis- 

 posini; cause of corn?, by deslroyinii" tlie substance 

 of the sole; and the crust at the beelj^ was sooner 

 destroyed by concussion ajrainst the shoe, winch 

 tlien bore on tiie sole also. The bar shoe was 

 then had recourse 1o, ami, to carry out ihe princi- 

 ples, it was said, that, as the public required one 

 shoe to do ibr all horses, the bar shoe was tlic only 

 one a|)|)licable; but hsviug' been used only in ex- 

 traordinary circumstances, the public will not use 

 it as an ordinary shoe. Mr. Powis used it without 

 tiie bar; but the Ijcvarian shoe, as we believe lie 

 called it, thou<rli having a space between it and the 

 heels at the time of application, so as to admit ol 

 the action of the lioof, yet, after a lew days, by 

 the closer approximation of the shoe to tlic hoof, 

 that space became less and less, and, belbrc; il was 

 necessary to remove it, tlie hoof bore on it as in 

 the ordinary siioe. 



Hut the bar shoe, or used withont the bar, or the 

 lioo- bar shoe, clearly and distinctly upsets the i/i- 

 ferrcd principle, that crust sliould bearon the shoe, 

 and sole should not. Let us, therefore, hear no 

 more of such nonsense, irom any one proll'ssing to 

 have the least practical knowledge of shoeing 

 horses. There is no principle that can be uniform- 

 ly practised without injury. The predisposing 

 and exciting causes of injury of the loot are not 

 acting upon all horses. 



I have got rid of all technicalities, to enable us 

 to come to some conclusion as to what really are 

 the principles of shoeing liorses. I have shown 

 clearly enoui2:h, lioni (ien(;red practice, that the 

 crust only is alloweil, or part of the sole also, at 

 the toe to bear on tlie shoe, till it can bear no lon- 

 ger at the heels: the weight is then thrown on the 

 frog, if in a sound state to bear on the shoe, until 

 you can get tlie heels in condition to bear on the 

 shoe again. If we are to infer principles from all 

 this, what is the result? — That depression of the 

 sole, bars, crust at the heels, and li-off, should be 

 Billowed in the soiuid state of hoof that is used for 

 its relief when diseased. I am aware that the 

 subject is full of difficulty; it all hinges upon prac- 

 tical utility, i. e. whether the ordinary shoes can be 

 superseded by those upon principle at the same 

 price. Inde|)endently of this, it is easily accom- 

 plished, as I shall hereafter show, but not upon the 

 theory of expansion, which is not the principle of 

 action in the hoof^ but that of the spring. 



"It would be a very easy matter to ffive in- 

 stances of the advantage derived from springs, by 

 Calculating assumed cases; but tliey seem to be 

 quite unnecessary, since the general principle of 

 changing percussion into increase of pressure, 

 must, by its very annunciation, (jive evidence of 

 its immense importance." — /). Gilbert, Esq.; M. 

 P., on the Construction of Mail Coaches. 



"So great is the advantage of springs, that they 

 almost annihdate the resisttince which that part of 

 the load which rests on them would encounter 

 without them, upon stony roads, or rough pave- 

 ment. From the whole of these experiments, it 

 appears that the advantage of springs increases 

 with the increased velocity of carriages." — R. L. 

 Edgeworth, Esq., F. R. S. M. R. L A. Essay 

 on the Construction of Roads and Carriages, 2d 

 edit. p. 118. 



Springs. — They convert all percussion into mere 

 increase of pressure; that is, the collision of two 

 hard bodies is changed, bv the interposition of one 



Vol. V-88 



that is elastic, into a mere accession of (veight. 

 Thus the carriage is preserved liom injury, and 

 the materials of the road are not broueii; and in 

 surmounting obstacles, instead of the whole car- 

 riage with its load being lilieil over them, the 

 springs allow the wheels to rise, while the weights 

 suspended upon (hem are scarcely moved from 

 their horizontal levels so that the whole of the 

 weight could be supported on the springs, and all 

 tlie other parts supposed devoid of inertia, while 

 the springs themselves are very longand exireme- 

 ly flexible. This consequence would clearly fol- 

 low, however much it may wear the a|)pearance 

 of a paradox, that such a carriage may be tirawn 

 over a road abounding in Pinall obstacles, without 

 agitation, and without any material addition being 

 made to the moving |)oweror drauLdit." — Gilbert; 



"A carriage without Springs, moving over a 

 rough road, has to be lifted over obstacles, or out 

 of depressions, and all the power expended irt 

 overcoming inertia is pure loss: but the force ex- 

 erted in elevating the weight is in agreat measure; 

 [reijuired] by the [)receding or subsequent descent. 

 Now, under the supposition in my paragraph, iner- 

 tia would be destroyed; and it already is so by 

 springs now at present used, and by the smooth 

 roads." — Gilbert. 



It would be useless to multiply quotations on the 

 principle of springs. The |)riiiL;i|)le of springs is 

 acknowledged and taught in our veterinary school 

 as the principle of action of the hoof and part with- 

 in it. The seceders go upon a supposed expan- 

 sion hori'/ontall)': they have liiiled, as others be- 

 fore them, in not being able to bring the modifica- 

 tion of expansion into general use. Springs, too,- 

 have failed; and for the same reason — their appli- 

 cation to prevent contraction. For springs to bei 

 brought into general use instead of the ordinary 

 shoes, they must have the ordinary shoes for their 

 basis. It must produce as much profit to the trade; 

 not Ibrgettiiio; that intellect in its march has, as yet, 

 forgotten to go ihe rcninds of"the veterinary forges, 

 the new name fijr the blacksmith's shop, in contra- 

 distinction, I suppose, to that of the whitesmith. 

 [ j'y be continued.^ 



From Lewis's Observations on Exj crimental Farming. 



ON THE NATUJlt: AND APPLICATION OF MA- 

 NURES. 



As no department of agriculture would be more 

 under the immediate control of the manager of 

 an experimental farm than that which includes 

 tlie composition and application of manures, it 

 might be reasonably expected that he would be 

 able to conler advantages proportionally great 

 upon the agricultural community. It m.ay besaid 

 that in no branch of the profession is there more 

 unnecessary waste incurred. Indeed, one of the 

 greatest chemists of modern times has not scrupled 

 to assert that the dead loss occasioned by the pre- 

 sent system of preparing manures varies from 

 one-half to two-thirds of" the whole amount; and 

 when we consider that the annual value of manure 

 in (rieat Britain and Ireland is estimated at the 

 gross sum of 20,000,000/., we may form some idea 

 of the saving that would ensue were the process 

 conducted on more sound and scientific principles. 

 At present, we would conclude that there is a loss 



