COKRECT SHAPE, ETC., OF HORSE-NAILS. 273 



factorily undertaken after ascertaining the form and condition 

 of the wall. The nails should be smooth and regularly formed, 

 but should never be hammered more than is absolutely 

 necessary, for, cceteris paribus, the softer they are the better. 

 The amount of hammering they should receive depends, 

 therefore, to some extent on the hardness of the wall. 



As the nail is required to take a straight and not a curved 

 course through the horn, its inner side, that is, the part turned 

 towards the laminae, should be somewhat curved outwards, in 

 order to provide against the known fact that straight nails 

 always pass in a curved direction through the wall, and then 

 not only fail to remain firm but are very liable to injure the 

 horn and even the soft structures. 



The point is finished with a short triangular surface obliquely 

 inclined to the general direction of the shank (figs. 268 and 

 270). A short point causes the nail to emerge low down on 

 the wall, whereas an oblique point results in it taking a longer 

 course and emerging higher. No fixed rule can be given in 

 regard to the niceties of pointing, because different forms of 

 wall, and to some extent nails of different thickness, require 

 different lengths of point. 



The point, however, should never be curved. Its outer side 

 must invariably be straight, and the point, though sharp, must 

 not be thin, still less excessively fine. 



At the present time machine-made nails, highly polished 

 and ready for driving, are almost exclusively used. Of extreme 

 regularity, they are cheaper and more easily driven, though 

 less tough than the old-fasliioned nail. 



11. Nailing on the Shoe. 



Before affixing the shoe the farrier places it once more in 

 position to see whether it fits accurately and whether it is in 

 every respect suitable. So far as nailing on is concerned, the 

 shoe fits when, firstly, all the nail holes correspond in position 

 to the white line, and secondly, when each hole has been 

 punched with due regard to the direction of the correspond- 

 ing part of the wall. Any errors must be corrected before 

 nailing on commences. 



s 



