72 THE HORSE. 



their science and experience to their subordinates, 

 the illiterate operatives, too much cannot be said to 

 their honour and in their commendation, as men 

 labouring: in a branch of service of the utmost im- 

 portance to the community and to the interests of 

 humanity. 



SECTION XIII.— The Bar Shoe. 



" I use a bar, or planch e, wider than any part of the 

 shoe, of an equal thickness in all its parts, and per- 

 fectly flat on both sides, which affords a much larger 

 and more even surface to tread on, and gives, like- 

 wise, more points of bearing on the frog. In every 

 other respect a bar shoe corresponds, both in form 

 and principle, with the plain shoe." — Goodwin. With 

 precisely such a shoe, excepting that the ground side 

 was hammered somewhat concave, I rode, during 

 several years, a well known trotting hack of mine, 

 the hoofs of which, though dark in colour and appa- 

 rently well formed, were extremely tender, and had 

 been severely injured by hard service and bad shoe- 

 ing. When this mare first came into my possession 

 I could not find a farrier in my neighbourhood equal 

 to the task of shoeing her so that she could go at 

 her ease and sound ; and I could not endure the 

 thought of riding her, travelling in constant pain. 

 I then sent her some miles, during a year or more, to 

 a farrier of prime note, who had the first patronage. 

 He loaded her weak feet with iron and his peculiar 

 shoe, which made the matter worse. 



I next sent to old Snape, the King's farrier, who 

 called on me, and, over a bottle, seemed disposed to 



