578 
The Plymouth Meeting. 
Mr. Clay, who acted as one of the Judges on this occasion, 
reports that in the hunters' class, in which 22 candidates 
appeared, the competition was very close, especially for the 
second prize. The time, however, all through was far too long 
and varied — from 32 to 73 minutes to perform the same work. 
The first prizeman was fully entitled to his position as a prac- 
tical shoeing smith, and his work altogether, both as to the form 
and finish of the shoes, the treatment of the hoof, and the fit- 
ting on of the fore shoe, was quite equal to anything which has 
come under Mr. Clay's notice during an experience of eighteen 
years in these competitions. The knowledge of the first prize- 
taker as to the internal parts of the horse's foot was, however, 
not so perfect, and on this point Mr. Clay hopes that the Regis- 
tration Committee of the Farriers' Company will not overlook the 
great importance attaching to this branch of the question when 
they get their Provincial Committees to work throughout the 
country. In Class 2, where only 7 competitors appeared, the 
work was, of course, not equal in finish and style to that with 
the hunters ; but still the importance of having good useful 
shoes, not too'cumbersome for an ordinary farm horse to carry 
about, well fitted on, with not too many nails, and without 
cutting and rasping the feet to pieces, is yet far from being 
looked upon as requiring care and intelligence to do the work 
properly. 
It is further remarked by Mr. Clay that, in his own opinion, 
the new scheme of the Farriers' Company, in the carrying out of 
which the Society is now co-operating, apj^ears a more permanent 
and satisfactory means of improving the art of shoeing than the 
holding of competitions in the Royal Showyard, whilst the 
immense difficulty of procuring horses for shoeing competitions — 
a difficulty great in proportion to the number of competitors 
— prevents anything like a national competition, or even one 
which can be thrown open to the whole of the district in 
which the Show is held. "What he thinks the " Royal " might 
possibly do now would be to offer some sort of Champion Prizes 
for the first and second winners at their own and the leading 
local Societies' competitions, for, say, the past five or six years, 
and by that means arrive at a standard of perfection for the 
country generally. 
As the form of Judges' Book used at Plymouth may be some 
guido to those intending to institute similar competitions, it is 
shown on the opposite page. The value of the points may bo 
varied to suit each J udge's own opinion ; but this form was found 
to answer the purpose very well at Plymouth, and saved the 
Judges much trouble in making their final decision. 
