THE SHOE. 231 



into the dry, shrunk, unyielding apology for a frog, to be 

 seen in the foot of almost every horse that has been regu- 

 larly shod for a few years. The frog is provided within 

 itself with two very efficient modes of throwing off any 

 superfluous horn it may be troubled with ; and it is very 

 unwise in man to interfere with them : the first and most 

 common is the separation from its surface of small bran- 

 like scales, which, becoming dry, fall off in a kind of 

 whitish scurf, not unlike the dust that adheres to Turkey 

 figs. The other, which is upon a larger scale, and of rarer 

 occurrence, is sometimes called *' casting the frog." A 

 thick layer of frog separates itself in a body, and shells 

 off as deep as a usual paring with a knife ; but it is worthy 

 of remark, that there is this very important difference be- 

 tween the two operations ; nature never removes the horny 

 covering until she has provided another horny covering 

 beneath, so that although a large portion of the frog may 

 have been removed, there still remains a perfect frog be- 

 hind, smaller, it is true, but covered with horn, and in 

 every way fitted to sustain exposure; while the knife, 

 on the contrary, removes the horny covering, but is un- 

 able to substitute any other in its stead. My advice, there- 

 fore, is, to leave the frog to itself; nature will remove the 

 superfluous horn, and the rags can do no harm, and, if un- 

 molested, will soon disappear altogether. 



The shoe should have these general features : — 1st. It 

 should be, for ordinary work, rather heavy, in order that 

 it may not be bent by contact with hard, uneven roads ; 

 2nd. It should be wide in the web, and of equal thickness 

 and width from the toe to the heel, that it may protect, 

 as much as possible, the sole, without altering the natural 

 position of the foot. 3rd. It should be well drawn in at 

 the heels, that it may rest on the bars, and extend to the 

 outer edge of the crust on the outside, and reach beyond 



