462 II ANDY- BOOK OF HUSBANDRY. 



" of cutting the muscles, but while it is being done the horse is 

 " never off his work, and he suffers infinitely less pain. 



" The method of nicking or pricking, as usually performed in 

 " this country, is not quite so cruel or so hazardous as the cutting 

 '* of the muscles ; it Is thus described in Stewart's ' Stable Book': — 



*' 'The tail has four cords, two upper and two lower. The 

 *' upper ones raise the tail, the lower ones depress it, and these 

 "last alone are to be cut. Take a sharp penknife with a long 

 " slender blade ; insert the blade between the bone and un- 

 " der cord, two inches from the body ; place the thumb of the 

 " hand holding the knife against the under part of the tail, and 

 " opposite the blade. Then press the blade toward the thumb 

 " against the cord, and cut the cord off, but do not let the knife 

 " cut through the skin. The cord is firm, and it will easily be 

 " known when it is cut off. The thumb will tell when to desist 

 " that the skin may not be cut. Sever the cord twice on each 

 "side in the same manner. Let the cuts be two inches apart. 

 " The cord is nearly destitute of sensation ; yet, when the tail is 

 " pricked in the old manner, the wound to the skin and flesh is 

 " severe, and much fever is induced, and it takes a long time to 

 " heal. But with this method the horse's tail will not bleed, nor 

 " will it be sore, under ordinary circumstances, more than three 

 " days ; and he will be pulleyed and his tail made in one-half of 

 " the time required by the old method.'" 



In this connection it is important to give some attention to the 

 question of shoeing horses ; a department of farriery in which the 

 world has received much assistance from the little work of Mr. 

 Miles.* He illustrates the construction of the foot by the follow- 

 ing cuts, (Figs. 107 to 109,) which, with their accompanying 

 description and the following extracts from his work, will be 

 readily understood : — 



" The hoof is divided into horny crust or wall, sole, and frog. 



" The horny crust is secreted by the numerous blood-vessels, 

 " that soft, protruding band which encircles the upper edge of the 



* Miles on the Horse's Foot. O. Judd & Co., New York. 



