COLD SHOEING. 107 



' Aberlorna ' says that, ' he believes no ill effects 

 ever result from hot shoeing, except when done by 

 ignorant men, who should be anywhere but in a 

 shoeing forge.' In such a forge, ten miles from his 

 own residence, there is a man so ignorant of the 

 nature of a horse's foot, that he laughed at the idea 

 of his being able to go on the roads with only tips, 

 and was, afterwards, ' quite surprised that he had 

 not broken down on the way home after he was 

 shod.' 



Cold shoeing is gradually gaining in favour with 

 practical men in spite of prize essays which condemn 

 it. There is one passage in the said extract that 

 the writer is unable to comment upon, because he fails 

 to see any meaning in the assertion that ' two surfaces 

 are caused to correspond, friction is set up between 

 them, and their separation not so easy.' There may, 

 perhaps, be some argument concealed under this 

 verbosity. We are told that ' language was given to 

 man to enable him to disguise his thoughts.' 



The extract given from the essay is of a very 

 ' groovey ' character otherwise. 



The Seeley shoe, of which mention has been 

 made, is a plain, light, machine-made shoe, without 

 calks or clips, seated or bevelled on the ground 

 surface, as Professor Coleman was the first to advo- 

 cate. The chief advantage it possesses is that of 

 being made of iron so ductile that the shoe can be 

 altered in shape tvhilst cold. It is, in fact, meant 

 to be ahvays applied cold; and this is the only 

 difference there is between it and any ordinary light 



