42 
THE VETEFtlNARY 
Beside the knowledge that, if chance or business should lead 
him to the metropolis, he may reckon upon one pleasant and use¬ 
ful evening at least, would he not see in this ultimate reference 
a tower of strength, and pursue, with greater satisfaction and 
zeal, the straightforward and honourable course of his practice ? 
The practitioners who reside in the neighbourhood of the me¬ 
tropolis, how much have they it in their power to contribute to 
the welfare of the Association, and of the Profession ! Not one 
of them has ever had occasion to repent of his attendance on the 
usual nights of meeting. He has been listened to with uniform 
courtesy by his brother practitioners, and with respect by the 
students; and he has had the satisfaction to perceive, when he 
examined the next report, that he has contributed his share to a 
discussion honourable to the Association and useful to the pro¬ 
fession at large. 
The subject which was discussed on the first two nights of the 
present session was one of the most important on which the 
attention of the Association could be engaged. The essay was writ¬ 
ten in a plain, unpretending, straightforward manner, and con¬ 
tained many sterling truths ; but it so happened that few of the 
practitioners of considerable standing, who had given life, and inte¬ 
rest, and value to former debates, were present, and the consequence 
was, that scarcely a word was said of the intimate structure of the 
foot, and the true nature and extent of its elastic and expansive 
power, or ^^The principles of shoeing but the first meeting was 
—we will not say wasted, for many interesting observations fell 
from several speakers, and particularly from the President—the 
first meeting was occupied by the consideration of the leather 
sole. This is a most valuable addition to the shoe, as Mr. Turner 
remarked, when the foot begins to be tender, and it is indispen¬ 
sable when disease has progressed to any extent; but, from the 
effect of the varying contraction and expansion of the leather 
on the attachment of the shoe to the foot, and the enlargement 
of the nail holes, and the soundness of the crust—.from the 
morbid softening of the sole—and from the tact which is required 
in the adaptation of the leather, and the equable distribution 
of the stopping, it never can or ought to come into general use. 
