110 HORSE AND MAN. 



punching of the nail should lead to such a result 

 could not have been expected at the time, though 

 for the future any farrier who wilfully uses cut 

 instead of forged nails ought to be held responsible 

 for any damage to the horse. 



While I was in America I saw some horseshoe 

 nails which were beautifully made. They were 

 hand-forged, and so tough that they could be twisted 

 when cold into a screw, and then twisted back again 

 without breaking or even showing a crack. They 

 were of course more expensive than the rolled and 

 cut nails, but if nails similarly made had been used 

 in the above-mentioned case, the horse would not 

 have been lost. 



These nails were shown to me in a railway car, 

 and I should have liked to have secured a few 

 specimens, but could not do so. But I have an in- 

 distinct idea that they are called Putnam nails — at 

 least, there is a nail which goes by that name, and 

 which seems, from its description and appearance, 

 to be similar to, if not identical with, the nails which 

 I saw. 



Another evil of the shoe is its weight. What 

 effect that weight has upon the sinews and muscles 

 of the leg has already been mentioned, as well as the 

 needless and additional work which is thrown on the 

 animal. 



