AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
FOR THE 
JTai-i) i, Grarden, and IT onseliolcL 
“AtUUCULTURE IS THE MOST HEALTHFUL, MOST USEFUL, AMI* MOST NOULE EMPLOYMENT OF MAX/’-Wajuikoiov. 
CO., ) 
ms. V 
r. ) 
osancie jui>» & co., ) ESTABLISHED IN 1842 ( $1.50 peb annum, in advakoi; 
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Entered according to Act of Congress, in December, 1872, by Orange Judd & Co., at the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
VOLUME XXXII.—No. 1. 
NEW YORK, JANUARY, 1873. 
NEW SERIES—No. 312. 
The scene depicted by our artist in the above 
engraving needs no introduction. Roughening 
horses’ shoes at this season is so common a 
practice, that every one possessing a horse 
should understand ivliat it is. At the same 
time, there are many horse-owners who neglect 
it. Such neglect is unwise, costly, and cruel. 
Severe accidents result from driving horses on 
slippery roads with smooth shoes. Horses 
suffer from the greatest terror when traveling 
such roads with heavy loads. Their instinct 
teaches them that their fooling is unsafe, and 
the fear and anxiety they experience when so 
exposed is painful to witness. They are un¬ 
willing to proceed, and punishment is often 
thoughtlessly inflicted on the frightened beast, 
Who is wiser than his owner in foreseeing the 
danger. Many injuries to the feet and 
legs are occasioned by the frantic at¬ 
tempts of the horse to preserve his pre¬ 
carious footing, which result in such com¬ 
plaints as spavins, sprains, broken knees, 
ring-bones, curbs, wind-galls, and not at 
all uncommonly the secondary affection 
of the muscles of the shoulder called 
sweeny is thus occasioned. It is there¬ 
fore putting the case quite mildly when 
we say this neglect is both costly and cruel. 
Roughening, to be economical, should be 
done in the best manner. The toe-calks 
should be of hard steel. If of iron, they wear 
out very quickly. Care should be taken 
that the liind-calks are kept of even length with 
the toe-calks, so that the balance of the foot is 
not destroyed, and the weight thus thrown un¬ 
evenly on the sinews of the leg and the bones 
of the foot. Neglect in this often causes lame¬ 
ness. Finally, the greatest care should he exer¬ 
cised in preventing horses thus armed from 
kicking each other. Play in the barn-yard 
should not be allowed, for fear of injury. 
