AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 517 



titt(5 Bucliaria, tliere Is a great demand for furs, wltliout the least necessity 

 for them. Ermine fur is the most valuable known. During summer this 

 animal, which is about fourteen inches long, has a brown fur. In winter 

 it becomes perfectly white, with the exception of the tip end of the tail, 

 which always remains black. The nest fur most highly prized, is the black 

 sable, which is found in A.siatic Russia; then the weasel, marten, fox, etc. 



SHOES AND BOOTS 



Come next in nrder, and I will make a few remarks on their history, and 

 leave the society to discuss their merits more fully. They were, no doubt, 

 Worn during the earliest civiliaation of man« Shoes worn by the ancient 

 Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks, maybe seeri in the British Museum, made 

 of matting, the bark of papyrus, leather, and sundry other materials. In 

 the reign of Edward IV., shoes were mad« quite sharp at the toes, and turned 

 up and fastened to the knee by a chain. Then they were made round at the 

 toes and ornam^ented. In the time of Charles I. the toes were perfectly 

 square, and the boots came half way up to the knee, with wide tops turned 

 down. In those days they were not blackened. 



Among various nations in olden times, the shoe consisted of a sole tied 

 nnder the foot; with us the portion which covers the foot is called the 

 vamp, the lower portion the sole and the welt. Though many kinds of 

 leather are used for shoes and boots, those from the skin of the calf will 

 k'cep out Water and wear the best. Dress shoes are manufactured from the 

 skins of dogs, seals, horses, goats, &c. Doeskin, likewise, makes an elastic 

 shoe, but requires some water-proof pi'ocess to enable it to keep the feet 

 dry. 



There are but very few articles used by man as dress, that fashion makes 

 more changes in than shoes. The shoemaker invariably makes the foot 

 conform to the shoe, instead of the shoe to the foot. This may easily 

 be pr-oved bj'' any man in this room, who, if he will take the trouble to 

 examine his toes to-night, will find the little toe bent under the rest, and 

 each more or less indented and crooked— whereas they should be perfectly 

 straight, and capable of being moved about with the same facility that the 

 fingers move. To avoid this, have a plaster cast taken of each foot, and 

 lasts made from them, and then, if you walk properly, you will have great 

 comfort. Invariably raise the heel before you lift the foot from the earth, 

 and it will form the motion of a rolling wheel, and the muscles in the calf 

 of the leg will support the weight of the body, on the fore part of the foot, 

 as intended by nature. If thick soles are worn, as is usual, they will not 

 yield to the bending of the foot, and, consequently, the whole must be 

 raised at once, the muscles in the calf, for the want of use, soon dwindle 

 away, which accounts for the spindling legs we so often meet in our travels. 

 If you go in the country, you will find a great number of farmers possessing 

 fine, robust forms, with well-developed muscular arms, and wretched lank 

 legs, devoid of muscle or flesh. The feet of these men are invariably 

 covered with thick-soled boots, that are incapable of yielding to the spring. 



