NAILS. 31 



part lias reached tlie bottom, and when the head 

 is about half worn away the lower part is left loose 

 in the hole and the shoe comes off. Now the 

 nails I advise you to use — and you had better always 

 make them for yourself — should have heads which 

 are straight-sided at the upper part and gradually 

 die away into the shank at the lower part, so as 

 to form a shoulder which will block the opening 

 made in ^^back-holing" the shoe, and keep the shoe 

 firmly in its place until it is c|uite worn out. 



If you compare the two nails I have drawn, you 

 will at once see which promises the firmer hold. 



Your nails should be made of the very best nail- 

 rods you can get, and they should not be cooled too 

 c[uickly, but be left spread about to cool by degrees; 

 the longer in reason they are cooling, the tougher 

 they will become. They should not, however, be 

 allowed to lie in a heap to cool; the mass keeps in 

 the heat too Ions:, and makes them almost as brittle 

 as if they had been cooled too suddenly. 



