646 
MR. BROAD IN REPLY TO MR. FLEMING. 
feet; in some cases it remains in that stage a much longer 
time than in others before passing on to inflammation, 
depending in a great measure upon the exciting cause. 
Mr. Fleming has truly said, that some practical men 
get strangely muddled when they begin to grapple with 
theory.” lie may also have added practice, when that 
happens to differ from their own. Although Mr. Fleming 
has thought proper to draw attention to my letters in the 
Field of February 13th, in which I differed from him in the 
use of the Charlier shoe, as stated by him in the Field of 
January 30tli, 1 am in a position lo prove that I was correct; 
for, notwithstanding Mr. Fleming’s statements that the Char¬ 
lier system of shoeing was the nearest to perfection yet 
adopted, he told me at Chatham, in February, that the shoe 
could not he properly fitted without cutting so near the sensitive 
part of the foot as to amount to mutilation. I have heard him 
since then repeat that statement to other veterinary surgeons 
at our council meetings. He also said that the shoe was not 
suitable for hind feet or for general use, but more for a 
pathological shoe, and only suitable for good feet. It requires 
a good workman to make, fit, and put on properly, as it is a 
much more difficult operation than the ordinary method. 
When feet have been prepared for the Charlier shoe, the 
ordinary shoe cannot be put on for several weeks—not until 
the wall has grown down to take the nails and make a hear¬ 
ing for the shoe; another objection is, that from the light¬ 
ness of the shoe the concussive blows which it receives from 
the hard road produces elongation at the toe, in consequence 
of which it spreads open at the heels, either breaking the 
nails or tearing away the crust. In May last Mr. Field, 
senior, told me that they had shod two or three of their own 
horses on the Charlier svstem, hut had discontinued it from 
finding that it was not so good as the old. I know other 
persons who have tried it, and given it up. 
There is a very fair article in the Field of June 19th, on 
the subject by the editor, in which he expresses his opinion 
that it is more suitable for hunters than for hacks or harness 
horses. In the Field of August 7th, there is a letter from a 
gentleman who ajipears to have given it a fair trial, hut not 
finding it answer has discontinued it. As an illustration and 
further proof of stout shoes being advantageous, I think that 
I may fairly compare the effect of very light shoes on horses’ 
feet Avith the effect of very light tires on carriage wheels. 
It is a Avell known fact to coachbuilders, that with very light 
tires on wheels working over ])aved streets the wood work 
receives so much jar that it does not wear near so long as 
