REMARKS ON MR. REEVE’S EXPERIMENTS. 
135 
that, when the weight of the horse was thrown upon it in action, 
there would be a spring, however trifling, which would detract 
from a true result ; so that, for two reasons, I could not adopt it. 
Page 66, paragraph 1. — It is very far from my wish to make 
unnecessary difficulties, but, having experimented a good deal, f 
know what a trifling circumstance will interfere with the truth of 
the result ; I therefore take for granted every thing as stated in 
Mr. Reeve’s paper, and shall point out any of those circumstances 
which I consider could interfere with the experiment. “ The foot 
was stopped during the night I presume it had not been a foot 
kept for a length of time in a moistened state, although I do not 
think, even were this the case, that, if all other circumstances were 
complied with, the moistened state of the hoof would prejudice 
the experiment; but I am uncertain on this point, therefore I 
name it. “ The lower surface of the crust was made level from 
toe to heel.” More explanation is required. The crust should 
not have been left of an inordinate growth, and extending beyond 
the junction of the sole, or have been in a moistened state; also, 
the weight of the horse, acting on this edge of crust, would cause 
it to give way. “ A shoe was applied to the foot we are not 
told whether a seating was burnt or not. This I hold to be abso- 
lutely essential to the experiment ; and further, that the crust 
should be pared down to the junction of the sole, and that the 
horse, in his trials of exertion, should be kept out of the wet, else 
some slight' crumbling of the burnt horn might take place; all 
these things causing disturbance to the truth of the trial. If a 
shoe were applied without this accurate seating, if the slightest 
space were left at any part between the shoe and foot, I consider 
that there would be, inevitably, a slight giving way of the edge of 
the crust when the weight of the horse was thrown on the shoe. 
Again, “each pin was screwed into its hole, with the point towards 
the sole, until the closest approximation, without actual contact, 
was attained.” I have before objected to the nature of the shoe, 
on account of the difficulty of seeing the very fine points of the 
screws ; and I now state, that I consider it impossible, with the 
unassisted eye, and under the circumstances described, to regulate 
the distance of the screws with that extreme nicety required ; and 
I maintain that the chances were, that the sole was as likely to 
have been slightly penetrated, as to have been left untouched, 
previous to the horse having been put to any exertion. I will 
make one more remark, and, from a similar circumstance having 
occurred to me in one of my trials, I can do so the more forcibly : 
however tightly the screws are at first fitted, if the shoe has to be 
heated, the screws will be found to be more or less loosened, and, 
should they at all project, the weight of the horse may and will 
