THE FORM AND MANUFACTURE OF SHOES. 55 



This form is very widely used. It consists of a narrow 

 flat surface next the outer circumference of the shoe, 

 about equal in width to the border of the wall, and 

 within that, of a bevelled surface, sloped off so as to 



Fig 33.— a "seated" bearing-surface. 



avoid any i:)ressure on a fiat sole. This ' ' seated " surface 

 is not positively injurious, but it limits the bearing- to 

 the wall, and neglects to utilize the additional bearing 

 surface offered by the border of the sole. If shoes were 

 to be made all alike no shoe is so generally useful and 

 safe as one with a foot-surface of this form, but it is 

 evident that when the sole of the foot is concave there is 

 nothing gained by making half the foot-surface of the 

 shoe also concave. 



There are two other forms of foot-surface on shoes. 

 In one the surface slopes gradually from the outer to the 

 inner edge of the shoe, like the side of a saucer. In the 

 other the incline is reversed and runs from the inner edge 

 downwards to the outer. This last form is not often used, 

 and was invented with the object of spreading or widen- 

 ing the foot to which it was attached. The inventor 

 seemed to think that contraction of a foot was an active 

 condition to be overcome by force, and tha,t expansion 

 might be properl}^ effected by a plan of constantly forcing 

 apart the two sides of the foot. The usual result of 



