W I R 



tended fcale, has fully confirmed the conclufions to be drawn 

 from the above ftatement, and we may juitly confider the 

 fafety-Iamp as one of the moft valuable prefents which phi- 

 lofophy has made to the ufeful arts. 



WiRE-Grato, in Gardening, are contrivances formed of 

 fine wire-work, and ufed for keeping various kinds of large 

 infefts out of vineries, hot-houfes, and fuch places, as being 

 very mifchievous to the frviit in them. 



WiRE-Hee/s, isfc. a defeft and confequent difeafe in the 

 feet of the horfe or other animal. Some, as Gibfon, think 

 that narrow heels are for the moft part a natural defedl, but 

 that they are often rendered incurable by bad fhoeing. 

 Some, in fhoeing, hollow the quarters fo deep and fo thin, 

 it is faid, that one may almoft pinch them in with one's 

 fingers, and think by that means to widen them out by a 

 rtrong broad-webbed fhoe; but this turns them narrow 

 above and mires their heels, and dries up or rots the frog. 

 The bed way in all fuch cafes is, it is fuppofed, not to hol- 

 low the foot in fhoeing, and to pare nothing out but what 

 is rotten or foul. If the foot be hard or dry, or inclined 

 to be ragged, it may be bathed often with chamber-ley ; or 

 two pounds of linfeed bruifed may be boiled in two quarts 

 of chamber-ley to the confiftence of a poultice, then adding 

 to it fix ounces of foft-foap, and the foot be foftened 

 with it every day, rubbing a little of it upon the fole ; or, a 

 compofition formed of two ounces of bees'-wax, fix ounces 

 of hog's-lard, one ounce of tar, and linfeed oil as much 

 as will make it into the confiftence of a fmooth ointment, 

 may be mixed together, and be ufed daily in the fame man- 

 ner as the foregoing poultice. 



The difeafes and affeftions of the feet of thefe animals 

 have of late been more accurately underftood, and better 

 means of relief and cure recommended. 



In the cafe of narrow or contrafted heels, attended with 

 inflammation, and moftly confined to the fore-feet, there is 

 great pain ; the animal is conftantly moving its legs, and 

 generally inchned to lie down. When firft taken out, it is 

 almoft incapable of performing any of the paces ; the 

 weight being fo much thrown on the hinder legs. In trot- 

 ting, the legs are fcarcely lifted above the furface of the 

 ground ; the fteps are very fhort, and a walk or canter is 

 gone into inftead of any other pace. In the gallop, the 

 weight of the body is thrown on the fore-part of the foot ; 

 and in trotting, on the heels ; which produce very con- 

 fiderable pain, on account of the adion of the foot being 

 confined to the quarter in a backward direftion. 



The difeafe is moftly caufed by improper fhoeing, very 

 great and hard exercife, ftanding in confined fituations on 

 litter, and many other fuch caufes. 



In effefting a cure in all the more frefh cafes of this fort, 

 ■where the variation from the natural round form of the hoof 

 is not confiderable, it may be accomphfhed without the 

 animal being entirely made to reft, by removing the fhoes, 

 and if pofTible reducing the heels on a line with the inferior 

 part of the frog. The fole parts may be thinned, and that 

 portion which is between the bars of the foot and the cruft 

 be hollowed out. The hoofs fhould likewife be thinned 

 with a proper tool, efpecially at the quarters. The fhoes 

 fliould not be put on again for two or three weeks in fuch 

 cafes, and the parts from near the coronet to the fetlock be 

 anointed with a bliftering liniment, compofed of half an 

 ounce of finely-powdered cantharides and four ounces of 

 Barbadoes tar, well mixed together. 



And when necefTary, three or four pints of blood may 

 be taken from the plate vein, and a rowel be put in the 

 chelt. 



Mafhes, containing nitre in the quantity of an ounce, 



10 



W I R 



are to be occafionally had recourfe to. . At the fame time, 

 the feet of the animal fhould be put in . a trough of warm 

 water for two or three hours every day, fo filled as juft to 

 cover the hoof-parts of them ; gentle walking or trotting 

 exercife being ufed on fuch ground as is foft. 



Afterwards the fhoes which are made ufc of fhould be 

 thinner at the heels than thofe which were taken off, the 

 heels refting well and firmly on the bars and cruft. The 

 patent frog may be ufed when the animal is at reft, as by 

 continuing its ufe in a proper manner, the foot will gra- 

 dually regain its natural form and aftion. See Frog. 



In fuch cafes, too, the coronet may now be bathed 

 every day with an embrocation compofed of an ounce and 

 a half each of marfh-mallow ointment and Barbadoes tar, 

 with half an ounce of fpirit of turpentine, well incorpo- 

 rated together ; which vn\l promote and haften the growth 

 of the hoof-part of the foot. 



In cafe the animal has been lame fome length of time, 

 and the contraflion of the heels is very confiderable, it 

 fhould be put in moift pafture-grounds, to run for fome 

 time, carefully lowering the heels every four or five weeks, 

 or oftener if necefTary. As foon as the hoof has been 

 elongated from the coronet to the fole, the cure will be 

 completely effefted ; which will in moft cafes be accom- 

 plifhed in the courfe of about five months ; at the end of 

 which time the animal will have regained an entirely new 

 circular foot of the natural fhape. The animal fhould then 

 be fhod with thin-heeled fhoes, which admit the frog-part 

 of the foot to reft upon the ground. 



In cafes in which the animals cannot be turned out in 

 this manner, they fhould be provided with a large fhed 

 building, well clayed on the bottom part, and preferved 

 foft and moift by the occafional apphcation of water 

 flightly over it. 



But though this fort of management may moftly recover 

 and reftore the natural fhape of the foot, the proper aftion 

 of it is. not reftored with fuch facility. In a great number 

 of cafes, the feet become fo much altered in their ftrufture 

 and power on account of the long-continued inflammation, 

 that the means of expanfion are wholly deftroyed ; as is often 

 the cafe in the cartilages that are fituated at the higher and 

 hinder part of the foot, which not unfrequently become 

 bony, and, of courfe, it becomes impolTible to regain the 

 aftion of the foot. As in thefe cafes, the more the foot 

 is expofed, the greater will be the injury and mifchief 

 afforded ; the only means of relief that can be made ufe of, 

 is the covering of the foot with fuch a fhoe as is calculated 

 to prevent concuflion, which may be accomphfhed by the 

 application of a bar-fhoe that will reft on every part of the 

 cruft, and not upon the frog-part of the foot. This is fup- 

 pofed to be the beft form of fhoe that can be ufed for the 

 purpofe. 



In thefe cafes, when the animals are at reft, the feet 

 fhould be flopped with an ointment, compofed of one ounce 

 and a half each of common turpentine and tar, and two 

 ounces and a half of mallow ointment, well mixed to- 

 gether. 



In the cafes of cracks or feparations of the fibres of the 

 hoofs in a perpendicular manner, which when they extend 

 to the coronet are often very troublefome ; the animals moft 

 liable to them, are thofe which have either ftrong brittle 

 hoofs or narrow heels. Blood animals of the horfe kind are 

 more fubjedl: to them than others. 



In the management and cure of them, the parts around 

 the cracks fhould be made thin by the rafp, when the firing 

 iron fhould be drawn over above and below them, to the ex- 

 tent of the fiffures, in order to prevent their extenfion. It 



fhould 



