94 HOESE POETRAITUEE. 



surface. The inner part had a flat bearing of about half 

 an inch in width for the nail to rest on, then made con- 

 cave, so that there would be room between it and the sole 

 to introduce a picker, and that the sole in its descent 

 might not be bruised. The shoe being properly fitted, 

 was fastened to the hoof with nails driven about the cen- 

 ter of the crust, the points " getting a good hold " by 

 coming out about an inch above the shoe. The hind 

 shoes were made narrower and lighter, with both heel 

 and toe calks. The plan I now follow, is, to have the fore 

 shoes swedged with a tool that leaves a rim all around 

 the shoe of three-eighths of an inch at the base, coming to 

 a dull edge at the apex, being about the same depth as it 

 is wide. The remaining part of the web is concaved on 

 the inside, and on the outside the crease is cut where the 

 web and rim join, with an inward inclination. The nails 

 are driven from the inside of the crust in place of the 

 middle, with a slope that will bring them out half an inch 

 above the shoe. The reasons for adopting this system of 

 nailing are, that, as the hoof is composed of a great num- 

 ber of thin plates or laminae overlaying each other the 

 fibers running up and down the foot when a nail is 

 driven in the center, it has a tendency to divide the lay- 

 ers, and either split them asunder or cause an undue 

 pressure when driven higher than the insensible sole. 

 By starting the nails from the inside of the crust and 

 taking more of a horizontal direction, the laminae are not 

 divided, but perforated, giving a far better hold for the 

 nail, with no danger of either wounding the sensitive 

 parts or pressing on them to cause pain. When the nail 

 is driven through, the point is twisted off, and in lieu of 

 taking the rasp and filing an ugly crease that weakens the 

 hoof by destroying the enamel, a very small gouge merely 

 removes enough of the horn to hide the clinch riveted 

 with a punch, and of course, entirely out of the way of 



