TRANSLATIONS FROM CONTINENTAL JOURNALS. 529 
tated at the knee, and bringing it as near as possible 
to the position of the natural unshod horse’s foot he 
fixed it on a bench, perfectly level, causing the toe to rest 
against the wall, by putting a wedge between it and the 
wall. The leg was maintained in a vertical position by a 
kind of stirrup, made of leather, fixed in a ring in the wall. 
A wooden lever was then placed horizontally, in the end of 
which there was a shallow cavity to receive the upper end of the 
metacarpal bone. This lever was fixed with one end against 
the wall, in which a plate of iron was inserted so as to pre¬ 
vent it ascending, while the other end received the weight 
which represents the horse. This lever, as may be easily 
seen, is of the second order, that is, of unequal lengths, 
the resisting point being the shortest; the other, or longer 
one, to which the weight is applied, may be five to ten times 
the length, thus multiplying the weight in proportion from 
300 to 600 kilo. All being thus disposed, and the distance 
between the heels being accurately ascertained a weight 
even to cause the rupture of the ligaments, tendons, &c., was 
applied which brought the fetlock in contact with the table 
without in the least increasing the space between the heels. 
Without entering into the mechanism of the foot, the 
author remarks that it suffices for the purpose to have fur¬ 
nished the means to convince oneself that the foot does not 
expand at the heels when the weight is thrown on it, and 
that the shoe is not the cause of contraction, as has so long 
been asserted, taking for granted that the inflexibility of 
the iron prevents the expansion of the heels. The principal 
cause of contraction in the soliped is, according to the 
author, the want of moisture in the horse’s hoof, consequent 
on domestication. In a state of nature these animals live on 
pasture grounds, more or less moist. Through the frequent 
rains they go to drink at the water-courses, when their hoofs 
come in contact with more or less humidity; moreover, they 
take that exercise which is so favorable to the healthy state 
of the foot. All this is changed in the domesticated state. 
Our horses, especially those used for pleasure, whose hoofs 
are more dense and less moist, are kept in the stable on dry 
litter, which is carefully renewed. They have also but little 
exercise, and that usually on dry, hard roads; in short, their 
hoofs have but little chance of being impregnated with that 
degree of moisture which is necessary to the conservation of 
their natural form. The walls consequently dry up on the 
outside, in spite of the ointment which is often applied to pre¬ 
vent them, and which no doubt it does to a certain extent, and 
the foot becomes contracted in the same way as when, de- 
