I 
ESSAY ON FOOT-ROT. 661 
A few remarks on the structure and connexion of the parts 
affected by this disorder are necessary as an introduction to the 
subject. The hoof, which is of the same general nature as wool, 
hair, and horn, is at its point, when sound and healthy, exceed¬ 
ingly hard; but, as it approaches the heel, becomes soft and 
elastic. The sole is also hard at the point, and becomes softer 
and thicker as it approaches the heel, where it is about half an 
inch thick. Both hoof and sole are destitute of sensation, the 
latter, from its elasticity, easily sinking into small indentations 
when the animal treads on any hard prominence. In the centre 
of each hoof, and nearly of the shape of the external hoof itself, 
is the hoof-bone, the base of which is hollowed into a kind of 
sole, while its upper part is articulated to another small bone, 
which reaches to the place where the hoof divides. The hoof- 
bone is closely invested with a fleshy incrustation, pitted, like a 
honeycomb, with small indentations, and apparently very sen¬ 
sible. Between this and the horny hoof is another substance, 
which, lining the foot internally, adheres very closely to it. These 
two substances are incorporated at their surface by means of a 
natural cement or bond of union between the dead and living 
matter, which holds the hoof firm and immoveable. It is the 
dissolution of this compound substance that constitutes the ma¬ 
lady in question. i 
The first indication of the foot-rot is a slight halt in the animal. 
It gradually increases, and in two or three days the animal as¬ 
sumes a lank appearance, lags behind the rest, lies much, and, 
when roused, appears anxious, and confused at finding itself 
alone. It becomes more and more lame. Frequently the hoof 
is swelled; and in the course of five, eight, or ten days, the in¬ 
sensible lamina which lines it is dissolved, and the hoof hangs 
loose round the exterior of the foot, entirely separated from it, 
except at the upper edge. The disease also eats through the hoof, 
generally at its lower edges, after which the horny part comes 
away in fragments. The insensible part of the sole also peels off, 
leaving the insensible incrustation, which invests the bone, quite 
bare. The animal is then obliged to gather its food on its knees. 
It remains in a single spot all day, and turns very lean, and, if 
the summer be soft and sultry, is unable to preserve itself from 
the intrusion of the flesh-fly, so that, at length, maggots swarm 
over its whole body. If it lingers on till about Martinmas, 
when long exposure to the air and sharp nights of frost kills the 
contagion, a new hoof grows from its upper edge, and the foot, 
is again sheathed in a horny case ; but if winter sets in with se¬ 
verity, the animal, already disfigured by pain and disease, gene- 
