160 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HORSE^S FOOT. 
From these observations, it will be readily understood that 
there are many general or local influences which may inter¬ 
vene to bring about a more or less permanent modification 
in the keratogenous function,—the result of a disturbance in 
the circulation of blood through the tissues in which that 
function is located; and knowing this, the scientific practi¬ 
tioner can often, with great benefit, exercise his judgment 
in accelerating or retarding the flow of blood generally or 
partially in these tissues, according to the special indications 
present. 
The precise rate at which the wall of the hoof grows 
cannot be stated, owing, as pointed out, to the variation ob¬ 
served not only among horses of the same or diverse races, 
but even in the same animal at different times. 
From measurements instituted three years ago among troop 
horses,—draught and saddle,—I find that black hoofs grow 
quicker, when healthy, than white ones. The rate of growth 
for the front hoof was greater than that for the hind one ; 
in the former it ranged from 4-10ths to 8-10ths of an inch in 
five weeks, while in the latter it varied from 8-lOths to 
7-10thsin the same period. After the application of a blister 
around the coronet of a fore foot, in eight months nine rings 
or circles were apparent on the wall; the first ring that 
appeared was 3-8ths of an inch in breadth in front, the 
others only l-4th inch. 
We have now arrived at the termination of the series of 
papers on the horse’s foot, which, for so many months, have 
occupied a considerable portion of the pages of the Veterina¬ 
rian. The author of these papers has often been moved by 
a sentiment of apprehension, lest the desire to awaken an 
interest in the subject—like that which made it an object of 
special predilection for him—should carry his observations 
beyond the bounds of utility and patience. Nothing but 
the irresistible fascination that appears to seize every one who 
attempts to study this wonderful region of the horse’s body, 
can be urged as a plea for long descriptions and minuteness 
of detail—which may have been wearisome to many—and the 
attempt to add to the knowledge already possessed,—which 
may be looked upon as useless by others,—of the anatomy and 
physiology of the foot. The apparently interminable story 
has come to a conclusion, so far as our professional Journal is 
concerned; though the subject is so far from being exhausted 
that, should circumstances permit, it is possible that these 
nation bestowed by the same authority on a horny tumour on the inner face 
of the hoof in connection with the lamina. 
