CHAPTER V. 



WINTER SHOEING. 



Fig. 158. 



All shoes whose ground-surface is provided with contriv- 

 ances to prevent slipping uj)on snow and ice are called winter 

 shoes. 



These various contrivances are produced bj several proc- 

 esses called " methods of sharpening." All methods may be 

 gathered into two groups, — namely, practical sharp-shoeing 

 and impractical. Only the first will be considered. 

 The durability of sharpened shoes depends 

 partly upon whether they are made of steel or 

 iron, and partly upon the nature of the ground 

 in winter. If the ground is continuously covered 

 with a thick layer of snow, whatever method of 

 sharpening is followed, the shoes stay sharp; if, 

 however, the winter is open, changeable, with 

 more bare ice than snow, no method of sharpening, 

 whatever it may be, will last long; the shoes will 

 not stay sharp. 



For these reasons no method of sharpening 

 which fulfils all conditions satisfactorily has yet 

 been discovered. 



The simplest and at the same time the least 

 durable method of sharpening is: 1. That by 

 means of ice-nails or frost-nails (Fig. 158). One or two nails 

 are drawn from each branch of the shoe and replaced with ice- 

 nails. 



2. Sharp Toe- and Heel-Calks. — The outer calk is split 



and a small steel wedge welded in. It is then laid upon the 



edge of the anvil, indented and sharpened from within to 



without in such a manner that the calk shall be thin from 



146 



An ice-nail, frost- 



