1861. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



367 



thing that will form a good shell ; and nothing is 

 better for that purpose than the very shells. Con- 

 sequently, when the shells of eggs are thrown to 

 hens, when only broken in two, it will often learn 

 them to try a whole shell when the egg is in it. 



Fowls, when laying, must have lime. I keep a 

 dish of clear lime always within their reach. This 

 is far better than to compel them to pick and 

 work over a lot of mortar, for the sake of obtain- 

 ing only a small quantity of lime. Every egg 

 shell should be broken into small fragments, and 

 mingled with fresh meat chopped fine, or with 

 scalded meal thickened with milk, or even made 

 thick like mush. By allowing hens to have all 

 the lime they need, the egg shells will be much 

 thicker and more firm, than they will when hens 

 are compelled to find materials for the egg shells 

 only in their food, or in bits of old mortar, or by 

 eating lumps of earth. — Country Qentleman. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 HORSE AND CATTLE SHOEING. 

 The following article, on Horse and Cattle 

 Shoeing, was read before the Concord Farmers^ 

 Club last winter, by Francis E. Bigelow, a 

 member of the Club. Mr. Bigelow has had large 

 experience in his business. He looks into the 

 reason of things, and means to progress and im- 

 prove in his art. 



When I first saw the topics for discussion, I 

 was a little at a loss to know what "Horse and 

 Cattle Shoeing" had to do with agriculture. 

 But as you discuss Farms and Farm Implements, 

 I suppose you call the horse and ox machines or 

 tools, and as they are indispensable in your work, 

 they must be kept in order. 



I will give you some general rules for horse 

 shoeing, and note some errors generally practiced 

 in the care of horses' feet. It is generally consid- 

 ered that shoeing has accomplished all that can 

 be expected of it. If the shoes are only firm on 

 the horses' feet, when his services are required, 

 little thought is given, whether they are tight 

 and pinch his feet, or are easy and comfortable, 

 so long as he can go without being lame. "No 

 foot, no horse," is a truth, which has been real- 

 ized by too many when the horse has been har- 

 nessed for a ride, of business or pleasure, and 

 starts off, keeping time with his head, with the 

 precision of a drill sergeant. 



The horse's foot is made up of a variety of tex- 

 tures, so beautifully combined as to form one 

 complicated but perfect spring, and unless that 

 spring is permitted to have constant freedom of 

 action, it very soon gets out of order, and the 

 horse becomes unfit for use. If horses were prop- 

 erly stabled and shod, they would doubly pay for 

 the extra care bestowed upon them, by the in- 

 creased service they would render. Too many of 

 our horses are over-driven and over-worked, and 

 not properly cared for when they are put in the 

 stable. Their feet soon get out of order, and the 

 smith is often blamed if the horse is lame, when, 

 in fact, it is more the fault of the owner than the 

 smith. One thing is certain, our horses have not 

 proper stables to keep their feet in good condi- 

 tion ; a hard, dry floor is a bad place for horses' 



feet. A pen where they can be turned in loose 

 on the ground is a better place, and would keep 

 their feet in better condition. 



There is a great difference between horses' feet 

 which work on the farm, and those that travel on 

 the road. The farm horse being on the plowed 

 land, the rains, dew and damp soil keep his feet 

 moist and elastic. But the feet of the horse that 

 travels are liable to become dry and hard, and 

 often contracted. There is no general rule that 

 can be applied to shoeing horses, because there are 

 scarcely two sets of feet alike. 



There is no kind of work I am acquainted with 

 that requires more judgment than horse shoeing. 

 All smiths pretend to know something of it, but 

 some make bad work. After the old shoes are re- 

 moved, the next thing is to pare the hoof — and 

 how much ? The best rule is to cut away till the 

 hoof will give under the hard pressure of the 

 thumb. Some hoofs require but little, merely 

 enough to level ; others, when the hoof grows 

 strong, require more. 



One grave error that most smiths practice, is 

 cutting away the frog to make it look clean and 

 nice. This tends to make it dry and hard, and as 

 that is an essential part of the foot, it is better to 

 let nature take care of it. It is my practice to cut 

 ofiF the heels, when the frog is small, to let it have 

 a chance to spread, but some think that un- 

 necessary. When the hoof is contracted, it is 

 best to cut till the hoof is tender and have the 

 shoe removed often. After the hoof is pared in 

 proper shape, the next thing is to select a shoe. 

 If a horse has a thin, flat foot, he should have a 

 heavy shoe. For a strong hoof a lighter one is 

 better. The web of the shoe should be wide at 

 the toe, to give it strength, and narrow and thick 

 at the heels. The shoe must then be fitted to the 

 foot, and not the foot to the shoe. This' is of 

 more importance than any other part. 



Every shoe should be more or less seated on , 

 the foot surface, to prevent it from pressing on 

 the sole — but have a perfectly flat surface on the 

 outer edge for the crust to rest on. The amount 

 of seating must be determined by the condition 

 of the foot. For instance, a broad foot, with a 

 flat sole — and thin hoof, will require a wide web 

 and considerably seated, to prevent it pressing on 

 the sole ; but a narrow foot, with a strong arched 

 sole, requires a narrow web and less seating. 



There should not be too much space between 

 the shoe and the foot, as the dirt will get pressed 

 in and often cause the horse to be lame. One of 

 the most important parts is in fitting the heels ; 

 they should not press at all, but be raised from 

 the heels and perfectly level. Some smiths make 

 the heels concave, which has a tendency to con- 

 tract the hoof. If we should adopt the English 

 mode of shoeing, we should have the heels turned 

 in the exact shape of the hoof, which would be a 

 very serious objection to our horses. They have 

 their shoes removed once in four weeks ; our cus- 

 tom is ten or twelve, and some get them fastened, 

 to keep them on four weeks longer ! 



SivX weeks is long enough. If the shoe just fits 

 the foot, when it has been on ten or twelve 

 weeks it is drawn forward so that it does not pro- 

 tect the heels, and becomes imbedded in the hoofs 

 nearly a quarter of an inch, and is then very lia- 

 ble to lame the horse, especially if he has corns ; 

 consequently we are obliged to have it project a 



