A42 DUTY OF STUDYING DEFORMITIES ; AND [bK. II. 



office, whether that be ferrier or doctor ; in fact, he 

 is ever the most prizable workman of either class 

 who is best acquainted with those deviations, acci- 

 dents, or errors that, for the most part, are inflicted 

 we know not how. The boot and shoe maker, for 

 example, who can best suit the bumble-footed man, 

 is a more ingenious mechanic than he who is wholly 

 employed in making his cordovans for perfect- 

 footed persons only. But then, the " shoe-maker" 

 of either genus should not be ignorant of well- 

 turned feet, and the symmetry of the horse's foot 

 should form an especial part in the education of an 

 intelligent shoeing-smith ; else, how is he to work 

 for the preservation of the proper shape, or its re- 

 storation when time and circumstances may have 

 effected those alterations we deplore, and strive to 

 amend if we cannot fully restore them ? 



Let him examine nature itself in its fastnesses ; 

 let him investigate the minute parts that constitute 

 the whole foot, to which his operations are calcu- 

 lated to afford support, or to effect alterations in its 

 form. To aid him in his inquiries, hereto is an- 

 nexed the section of a foot of nearly perfect shape, 

 published some time before these sheets, in order 

 to meet and correct the blunders intelligent shoeing- 

 smiths were every day led into by relying upon the 

 misrepresentation of the subject contained in certain 

 authoritative publications of the present day. As an 

 antidote to all mistakes on this interesting topic, 

 we strenuously recommend every one who has 

 occasion to meddle with horses' feet, as owner, 



