REVIEW — THE HORSE’S FOOT. 
291 
persevering in one form or one plan, depend upon it, it is not 
within the range of man’s ingenuity to amend it; and he will 
better serve his own interest in accommodating his views to her 
laws, than in attempting to oppose them. In this spirit let us 
proceed with our subject.” 
Further on, however (at p. 14), Mr. Miles says, to our surprise, 
“ I very much doubt either the utility or wisdom of leaving the 
bars projecting beyond the surface of the sole — 
But, if we are implicitly to follow Nature — to let that alone 
which she has made simply because she has made it — what matters 
whether we can discover “ the utility or wisdom” of it or not ] — 
That, in veritable philosophy, has nothing to do with the question. 
Mr. Miles is very desirous to reduce the number of nails com- 
monly employed in fastening shoes upon horses’ feet; and the 
principle on which he reasons for their reduction — the old one of 
unfettering or rather less fettering the hoof, and thereby giving 
greater liberty of expansion — is admitted by us ail to be an unde- 
niable one. At the same time it must be remembered that it is 
not the number so much as the situation of the nails that fetters 
the foot : two opposing nails placed far back towards the heels 
will, as regards expansion, do more harm than double the number 
towards the toe ; though, in point of security, one in the former 
situation is equal to two in the latter. In fact, there is a great 
deal more to be said on this subject than Mr. Miles has said, or, 
as we suspect, imagines; and, although we feel no hesitation in 
subscribing to his opinion that six nails are to be preferred to 
seven, and five to six, yet have seven — four on the outer side and 
three on the inner — not been, in general , used without good and 
sufficient reasons. Where but five are employed, they must, to 
be effectual, be placed at greater distances apart, and consequently 
be liable, as we said before, to prove nearly or quite as injurious 
as six or seven. However, Mr. Miles shall speak for himself: — 
“ Three years ago, I commenced a series of experiments upon 
shoeing, with a view, among other things, of ascertaining how few 
nails are absolutely necessary, under ordinary circumstances, for 
retaining a shoe securely in its place. The subjects of my expe- 
riments were six horses of my own, and three belonging to friends: 
the nine among them representing very fairly the different classes 
of pleasure horses; not indeed including hunters or race horses, 
each of which require a separate and totally different treatment; 
but carriage horses, ladies’ horses, and roadsters; and they also 
included the common variations in form and texture of the gene- 
rality of horses’ feet. 
“ When my attention was first directed to the subject of nailing, 
