4 PKEFATORY NOTE. 



perfect knowledge of the Anatomy of the Foot, and of 

 the true functions of its various parts, and from conse- 

 quent malpractice in its treatment, especially in the ap- 

 plication of the shoe, the use of which is needed solely 

 to prevent the undue waste and wear caused by severe 

 labor over hard, rough, and unyielding roads, the com- 

 mittee of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cru- 

 elty to Animals offered, in July, 1869, a series of prizes 

 for " the best and most practical essays on Horseshoeing, 

 in connection with the comfort and soundness of the 

 Horse." By August, 1870, upward of forty essays were 

 sent in. These were submitted to Prof. Williams, Princi- 

 pal of the Edinburgh Veterinary College, Mr. W. Robert- 

 son, M. R. C. V. S., Kelso, and Mr. B. Cartledge, M. R C. 

 V. S., Sheffield, Examiners of the Royal College of Vet- 

 erinary Surgeons, and Mr. J. C. Broad, M. R. C. V. S., 

 London, by whom, after a very patient and careful ex- 

 amination, the prizes were awarded : the first to Mr. 

 George Fleming, for the treatise now in the hands of the 

 reader ; the second to Mr. T. D. Broad, M. R. C. V. S., 

 Bath ; and the third to Mr. George Armatage, M. R. C. 

 V. S., late Secretary of the Central Veterinary Medical 

 Society, London. 



A large proportion of the essays exhibited much 

 thoughtful care in their preparation, combined at once 

 with scientific knowledge and practical acquaintance with 

 the subject in hand; and it has been most gratifying to 

 find so general a concurrence among the writers in their 

 utter condemnation of the common but unscientific and 

 irrational practice of paring away the sole and frog as a 



