REVIEW. 
759 
below the sole; the ground surface of this projection of the 
wall should also he made perfectly level from toe to heel, or 
the entire circumference of the wall.* 
“ The frog, if healthy, should be left alone. The knife, in 
its application to this organ, should be strictly prohibited. 
It is shown in Section II (page 6), and at Plate III, fig. 77, 
that the frog is the great protector of the navicular joint, a 
joint if not of greater, is at least of equal importance to any 
joint within or contiguous to the foot. The frog, as pre¬ 
viously stated, is a buffer to the joint in question ; and to cut 
its horny substance wantonly away, is to inflict what may 
ultimately prove a fatal injury to the soundness of the foot 
and the usefulness of the animal. Numbers of gentlemen 
and owners of horses will insist upon the removal of large 
portions of horn from the frog; they like, as they express it, 
to have the foot left neat. To sacrifice this organ from mere 
caprice, and thus render their horses liable to injury of an 
irreparable nature, is a matter of regret. 
The bars are the only parts left unnoticed in our remarks. 
The bars, like the frog, should be left untouched with the 
knife. It is a common matter with dealers and many horse¬ 
men to insist upon the farrier paring the bars to a level with 
the sole, which is done to give the foot a wider appearance 
than it really possesses ; this, to say the least of it, is a foolish 
and reprehensible practice.” ^ 
Curving the toe of the foot and the shoe is strongly insisted 
on, and the evils of a perfectly level ground surface are 
pointed out. 
The various modifications in the form of shoe to meet 
extraordinary requirements, are described and rendered easily 
intelligible by numerous illustrations, by the aid of which an 
amateur, quite unacquainted with the arrangement of the 
different parts of a horse’s foot, both external and internal, 
and innocent of all knowledge of shoes, may become suf¬ 
ficiently learned, after a careful study of the book, not only 
to understand the principles on which the farrier’s art is 
based, but to exercise his judgment in the supervision of the 
process of shoeing his own horse. 
As a familiar exposition of the mechanics of the art of far¬ 
riery we commend the book to the notice of all who are 
interested in the preservation of the foot of the horse. 
* ‘‘Unless the toe has been previously curved to adapt it to a similar 
curve given to the toe of the shoe ; a matter to be fully treated upon ere the 
present section is concluded. When once the toe of the foot has received 
its due curve, the farrier can work as readily to it as to a foot perfectly 
level.” 
