FLEXIBILITY OF THE PREPLANTAR SHOE. 581 



not appear manifest, for already several of my confreres 

 have thought that the foot must be constrained by the 

 little bar of iron that constitutes the shoe. To convince 

 them that this is not so, it is sufficient to take the 

 branches of the shoe in both hands, and to separate or 

 push them together, when it will be found that they yield 

 to pressure. In operating in the same manner by the 

 pressure of the thumbs against the branches of the sole, 

 the hands being joined around the hoof, I have also re- 

 marked and demonstrated to others the elasticity of the 

 shoe, which follows the movements, dilatation, and con- 

 traction of the heels : the animal's weight, in coming upon 

 the foot in every part, produces on it, as on the wall itself, 

 the effect of a wedge driven into a piece of wood. All 

 that can be said against my shoe is its too great elasticity 

 when it is worn thin. In striking on the pavement it 

 may spread out from the heels, inconvenience the animal, 

 or break. I remedy this trifling inconvenience by making 

 the last hole as far back as possible. 



' For saddle horses, for those of light draught, and for 

 all those chevaux de luxe, or of agriculture, which do not 

 work very severely, this shoeing will certainly prove a great 

 benefit. 



' It only remains to be seen if it will sufficiently resist 

 the repeated and excessively fatiguing journeys performed 

 by the horses in public conveyances, and especially those 

 omnibus horses which travel on the bad pavement of 

 Paris. 



' For the first case, placed as I am, I am already in a 

 position to be able to solve the question. Numerous 

 experiments are being made with the horses of the Com- 



