ON SHOEING HORSES. 
573 
to it a portion of your meritorious Journal — your solicitude in 
watching, its rapid progress down to the present moment — these 
things not only call forth my warmest thanks, but the same feel- 
ings must be echoed , by this time, from the leading forges of 
every large town in the three kingdoms. There is scarcely a 
county to which I have not been requested to forward side-nail 
shoes as patterns, with the necessary clips. 
In reply to Mr. C. Clark’s futile attempts to invade my rights, 
wherein he says the nails have been omitted in the inner half of 
the shoe at some forges ever since the year 1821 — I acknowledge 
that they have — I am proud of the fact — but that is not the 
argument. All the old farriers of the present day are aware that 
lie might have fixed upon 1721 with equal truth ; and moreover, 
1 can prove the fact, by old family records of my own ancestors, 
much more than a century ago ; but that is not the argument. 
It is the purpose for which this shoe is applied, that is the 
matter in question ; and when he has the daring hardihood to 
assert, that the first printed notice of it. connected with this 
purpose, was an account in February 1829, in the “Journal 
Pratique de Medicine Veterinaire,” 1 defy him to the proof. 
1 implore your readers to refer to their English periodical — T he* 
Veterinarian, for February 1829: at page 53 they will find 
iny paper on “Chronic Lameness of the Feet of Horses;” and 
at page (i5 of the same subject they will find these directions on 
shoeing: — .“The farrier must make a seated shoe, of an equal 
thickness heel and toe ; and he must secure the shoe by nailing 
all round the toe , and avoiding the inside heel , and even the 
quarter .” The paper concludes with the following sentence: — 
“ l am convinced that a sound horse, even with narrow heels, if 
managed in the way I have just described, may be preserved 
free from the navicular disease to the latest period of life.” 
My expose , carrying this out more fully? appeared in the 
July number of The Veterinarian of the same year. 
Now, gentlemen, notwithstanding the curious coincidence of 
dates, I can shew that the great Clark, and all the little Clarks t 
were distanced in this great race, even abating a fact I happen to 
be in possession of,; — that those French veterinary journals are 
rarely or never published at the time announced on their covers ; 
but that one, two, and occasionally three months elapse between 
their professed publication and the delivery of them to their 
subscribers. 
For the truth of this I appeal to yourselves, and to Mr. Youatt 
in particular; and I also appeal to the same gentleman, whether 
this said paper of mine was not publicly read on Christmas Eve 
of the preceding year, in his own theatre, in the presence of a 
VOL. ix. 4 G 
