I70 THE LOGIC OF BOOTS 



In all outdoor life long boots ensure dry feet, 

 and the top should reach the knee-cap to be of 

 real use in wet ground, or when one kneels 

 cooking beside the camp fire. The boot legs 

 guard one against venomous reptiles and 

 insects, and protect the shin bone which, for 

 lack of any muscle, is hable to be broken by 

 many kinds of accident. Lacing either a long 

 or an ankle boot puts an end to free ventilation 

 of the foot, making the skin to sweat, to soften, 

 and in many cases to become offensive. 



For horsemen the boot leg is a useful pro- 

 tection from the chafing of stirrup leathers. 



In war the soldier who wears laced boots is 

 obliged to sleep in them, whereas long boots, 

 kept properly greased, are so quickly put on 

 that it is safe to remove them at night. For 

 infantry, the world's marching record was 

 made by Colorado miners as volunteers for the 

 New Mexico campaign. They wore long boots, 

 as do the Russian and Germanic armies whose 

 marching is said to be better than that of the 

 French and British who have laced the ankle. 



The boot leg should not be shaped like a 

 bucket to catch rain as with the United States 

 Cavalry, or like a stovepipe to cripple a man 

 afoot as with British horsemen. Without 

 being tight like the puttee for the production 



