302 Our Noblest Friend, The Horse 



scenes to be witnessed upon streets paved with this 

 material are, after a sharp frost or icy spell, enough 

 to make one ashamed of his kind. Nothins: is 

 actively done to better matters, and the outrage is 

 unchecked. This pavement is in itself a good thing, 

 and has come to stay, yet neither the authorities, the 

 horsemen, nor the S. P. C. A. make any concerted 

 efforts to render it safely navigable in all weathers 

 and under all conditions. The rubber pads which are 

 now so generally used afford a fairly secure footing, 

 but they are, in price, cjuite beyond the reach of the 

 poor man, and no satisfactory substitutes for them 

 have been discovered. Toe and heel calks will not 

 remain sharp for any length of time upon the asphalt 

 and cobblestone surfaces. Sand boxes should be 

 placed upon every city block, kept filled by the 

 authorities, and the material scattered daily by the 

 street-sweepers; nor will sand of too fine a sort 

 answer, as traffic soon reduces it to dust. A very 

 little of this material, evenly and lightly distributed, 

 will render the pavement safe for the length of the 

 block and for a period of twenty-four hours. 



