322 THE HOUSE AND HIS STRUCTURE. 



He has scored a deep notch in the toe for the purpose of 

 receiving the " clip " of the shoe. This is evidently a 

 conservative relic of the time when nails were not used, 

 and the shoe attached by three pointed clips hammered 

 over the edge, one in front and one on either side. 

 Then, though this cannot be seen in the illustration, 

 he has improved the whole of the outer surface of the 

 hoof. As this part of the hoof has been furnished 

 with a thin, hard, polished plate, forming a sort of 

 varnish which is impervious to wet, the farrier, as a 

 matter of course, rasps it all away up to the crown. 

 And, as there has been placed round the crown a fringe 

 of hair, which acts as a thatch to the line of junction, 

 and throws off the rain upon the waterproof varnish, he 

 cute this away with his scissors. Lastly, there having 

 been given to the horny hoof a mottling of soft, and 

 partially translucent, brown, grey-blue, yellow, black, 

 and white, never exactly the same in two hoofs, much 

 less in two horses, the farrier takes a blacking-pot and 

 brush, polishes up the hoofs until they look like patent- 

 leather boots, all four exactly alike, and then contemplates 

 his work with satisfaction. In his own words, he has 

 "turned out a finished job of it." 



