. . 18 



ploughing experiment, made vnth. only four, and attended 

 with the like success ; the mare continuing to perform her 

 ordinary work with four nails. This led to the trial of 

 four upon one of the leaders of the above mentioned fast 

 mail, which answered perfectly, and the horse continvied for 

 a considerable time to perform his rapid journeys, over a 

 heavy stage, with his fore shoes attached by four nails 

 only. Ha\'ing thus ascertained, that four nails properly 

 placed were equal to the task of retainmg the shoe of a 

 mail coach horse, I was induced to try, whether it was 

 possible to effect a further reduction, and still retain the 

 shoes ; so I had one of my horses shod with three nails 

 only, one placed in the back part of the outer quarter 

 towards tlie heel, another in the front part of the same 

 quarter towards the toe, and the third in the inside toe, 

 and, after driving him more than a hundred mdes in these 

 shoes without the smallest shifting of either shoe, I adopted 

 the Hke number with three of my other horses, and had 

 four horses doing their work with fore shoes, varying in 

 weight from fifteen to twenty two ounces, securely retained 

 on their feet by thi-ee nails only in each shoe. 



I have purposely left the above unaltered, though I am 

 now in a condition to add, that fifteen years have elapsed, 

 since I have had more tlian three nails in the fore shoe of 

 any horse belonging to me ; and during the larger portion 

 of the time all my hoi-ses have been shod with leather, or, 

 what Avas far preferable to it, before it became so sadly 

 adulterated, gutta percha under the shoe, and coveriug the 

 whole of the ground surface of the foot. Genuine gutta percha 



