THE TRANSATLANTIC 'INTENTION: 597 



This invention is only another illustration, afforded this 

 time by our Transatlantic cousins, of the wonderful origin- 

 ality pertaining to everything new with regard to hoofs and 

 their armature. It will be seen that the 'idea' of the 

 shoe is, if we refer to Fiaschi, at least three centuries old, 

 or, if we look to our primitive models, perhaps as many 

 thousands of years ; while the method of applying it — or 

 rather the art of leaving the frog and sole in their integ- 

 rity — is an old story, repeated by almost every writer who 

 had made the horse's hoof his study. 



This will be at once apparent if we transcribe what the 

 writer in the London newspaper has written, in order to 

 attract attention to the new method. ' In i860, Mr Good- 

 enough invented and patented the shoe we are now about 

 to describe, and has succeeded, we think, in securing all 

 necessary protection to the hoof, and in removing, or 

 reducing to a minimum, the bad effects of earlier methods. 

 The principle laid down by Mr Goodenough is that the 

 shoe should resemble, and preserve, as far as possible, the 

 natural shape of the hoof, of which it is a continuation. 

 The unshod horse has the under surface of his foot on a 

 generally level plane, the frog and the whole margin of the 

 hoof in contact with the ground, and the under surface of 

 the sole, between the frog and the margin, somewhat 

 raised by its own concavity. The Goodenough shoe is 

 made precisely to follow the outline of the hoof for which 

 it is intended, and to reach exactly to the bars, never pro- 

 jecting at all beyond the heel. Its upper surface is gener- 

 ally plane and true (fig. 199, see next page) ; its under 

 surface is generally concave from the outer to the inner 

 margin, the outer margin having, however, a narrow, flat 



