224 UNASKED ADVICE. 



that tlie lioof grows very fast when sliod witli these 

 cusliious^ wliicli goes to prove anotlier tlieory of mihe^ of 

 "wliicli more hereafter. Next comes the Gooclenough 

 shoe, conceruing which more absurd statements have 

 been made (chiefly in advertisements) than I have ever 

 read on any one subject before, even including Mr. 

 GroodenougVs other most highly successful venture, the 

 Rarey system of horse-taming, which has already sunk 

 into oblivion. This shoe was " the only humane (?) shoe ; 

 it was to supersede all others, and its virtues took up in 

 their enumeration an immensity of space in various adver- 

 tising columns. For the benefit of anyone who has not 

 seen the shoe, I will describe it. It is pretty much like 

 -any other shoe, bevelled on both the inside of the foot 

 and of the ground surface, and armed with a calkin at the 

 toe, one on each side, and one at each heel. It has eight 

 nail holes. Now, there is no great novelty here, as the 

 calkins are merely the common way of roughing shoes in 

 North America, and, bar the calkins, there is no great 

 difference between this and a common hunter's shoe. 

 The advertisement states . that the intention is that the 

 shoe should, though calked, preserve the level position of 

 the foot. This is a manifest absurdity, as the calkins will 

 not wear away evenly, and then the foot is not level. 

 The toe calkin goes first, and then the shoe is no better 

 than a common turned-up shoe, which is objectionable 

 (though sometimes necessary on slippery stones) as 

 throwing all the weight upon the toe. It w^as to prevent 

 cutting — another absurdity. It might or it might not do 

 this, as horses difier so in their way of executing this 

 objectionable performance. Finally — and this assertion 

 is still made in the very much curtailed advertisement — 

 ^' horses shod with them will retain sound feet to the end 



