CRIMEAN REMINISCENCES. 
27 
the frog ; the soles were underrun ; stones, dirt, &c., accu- 
mulated within the space between the shoe and the foot ; 
and all those consequences followed which result from the 
interposition of foreign substances in such situations. The 
horny parts also became more or less dissolved ; and to such 
an extent had this solution taken place, that it w r as absolutely 
necessary, in some instances, to remove the entire sole and 
frog, so that it was impossible to attach a shoe to the foot 
until the new growth of horn, which appeared beneath the 
decayed parts, had attained a sufficient amount of thickness. 
The process of reparation, or new growth, in many cases 
was very rapid and complete ; seeming as if the great surface 
implicated averted the real ill-consequences so commonly 
attending injuries of the horny parts of the foot. When the 
horn, already separated, was detached and the foot cleansed, 
the laminae and secreting villi w 7 ere plainly discernible through 
the thin film of growing horn, w 7 hich, in its growth, pushed 
off the decayed parts by a kind of desquamation. Numbers 
of animals were necessarily returned non-effective from this 
cause. Canker, quittor, and thrush also often occurred in 
the feet of animals subjected to this method of shoeing. 
Sandcrack very rarely occurred, which was much too frequent 
in the feet of animals shod on the English system. This I 
accounted for in the following way : In Turkish shoeing the 
rasp has no place. Rasping the outer part of the crust gives 
a nice finish to the work of the farrier no doubt, but the evil 
of the system is not sufficientl} 7 thought of or understood, or 
else it wrnuld not be so commonly practised. Horn in a 
natural state is provided with a secreting pow ; er for the pre- 
servation of those qualities by wffiich it is characterised ; its 
lightness, elasticity, and durability rendering it a most fitting 
protection for sensitive parts ; constituting it also a beautiful 
medium through which the concussion of progression may 
be diminished in its distribution to the extremities. Truly 
has it been said, “ No foot, no horse !” If, then, its integrity 
is of such vital importance as regards the effective value of 
the horse, it surely becomes us to preserve it in a state as 
nearly to that of nature as is compatible with a state of 
domestication and usefulness. Rasping removes that almost 
imperceptible oleaginous secretion wffiich bedews, as it were, 
the surface of the natural and healthy horn. This secretion 
is evidently for the purpose of preventing evaporation, car- 
rying off water, &c., and, if removed, evil must follow 7 . 
In support of this opinion, one can adduce many in- 
stances of persons w ho are in the habit of scraping or rasping 
their finger nails : the nails thicken, contracting on the sen- 
