REVIEW. 
601 
The views which the author takes as to the cause of 
spavin are such as almost every practical man will agree 
with, but at the same time we cannot help thinking that 
he is a little too hard on the shoeing-smiths. 
If the form of shoe the author alludes to can be done 
without, so much the better, as the uneven tread produced 
by its application certainly must have a tendency to pro¬ 
duce undue strain upon some of the ligaments of the tarsus. 
But there are many instances in which we find it necessary 
to use such shoes, as no other form will obviate the defect 
of cutting, which sometimes exists to such an extent that 
we are induced to risk the evil effects they occasionally may 
have upon the hocks. 
“ Injudicious shoeing is another cause of spavin. When the horse 
is disposed to brush, the smith usually raises him hig'her on the one 
side of the heel than on the other. This may so far change his action 
as to prevent the brushing; hut it throws so much more weight on one 
part of the hock-joint than on another, that disease may almost be said 
to be the inevitable result. I wish these smiths had the one side of 
their boot raised an inch higher than the other, in order that they 
might enjoy the same pleasure which they have conferred upon the 
horse. They would then, especially if forced to run and jump, have 
an opportunity of knowing how long their ankle and knee-joints would 
continue sound.”—p. 117. 
On the subject of cc in-and-in breeding,” the author 
says— 
“There is not the slightest foundation for the strong prejudice which 
exists in the public mind against in-and-in breeding. On the con¬ 
trary, Mr. Smith has plainly established that, within certain limits, 
this plan is highly advantageous. Many of the best horses, as well as 
the best short-horned cattle, we have ever had, were very much and 
closely in-bred. To a certain extent this was unavoidable, when the 
studs and herds were first formed ; but it makes little difference whe¬ 
ther it was the result of necessity or of choice. It has fully estab¬ 
lished the immense advantages of breeding in-and-in, when the stock 
is of the right sort; indeed, I can see no other possible way of retain¬ 
ing the perfections of any particular strain than that of returning fre¬ 
quently to the same blood.”—pp. 126, 127. 
Now if Dr. Carson means from the same family, we should 
feel inclined to differ from him, for we have strong reasons 
for believing that it tends very much to cause degeneration. 
With the same breed of horse, we think judicious crossing 
is attended with beneficial results. Crossing breeds, and 
xxxn. 79 
