REVIEWS. 
923 
special subject; and the scholar may unhesitatingly take up 
the volume in the assurance that he will meet with much 
that will instruct and interest him, even though he may not 
feel an absorbing interest in the history of the humble craft 
of farriery. 
Referring to the origin of the art of shoeing with iron, our 
author points out several instances of incorrect translation of 
passages of Homer leading to wrong conclusions, the terms 
brazen-hoofed and metallic-footed being interpreted to mean 
metal-shod feet, an interpretation which is shown to be 
fanciful. 
Among the Greeks, according to the evidence afforded by 
their works of art, metal horseshoes were unknown, as they 
were never represented on their statuary; and Mr. Fleming 
gives due weight to this circumstance in the history of a 
people whose love of truth was apparent in every phase of art 
which, in all its details, was absolutely unerring. 
Passing on to the historv of the horse in the time of the 
Romans, our author gives many interesting particulars of the 
method of protecting the feet of horses by means of woven 
shoes of straw, or silk and cotton mixed. 
Between the third and ninth centuries occurs a gap, when, 
as Mr. Fleming says— 
‘‘ Learning was at a low ebb, because of the disturbed con¬ 
dition of the civilized world, and the overthrow of kings and 
dynasties by the irruptions of these strange and less than 
semi-barbarous nations, who swept away or destroyed in their 
progress nearly everything valuable to future ages, leaving 
only the more salient and remarkable historical facts to be 
imperfectly described by a few monks or refugees. These 
were, for the most part, buried in cloisters or secluded spots, 
and had but few opportunities, even if they possessed the in¬ 
clination or ability, to note the various changes which befel 
many of the arts, or chronicle those which appeared for the 
first time; so that it is not to be wondered at that the 
annalists of those days should be silent with regard to these 
foot defences, and that the first intimation of their exist¬ 
ence should only be given at so late a date as the ninth 
century 
A very complete account of the methods of shoeing prac¬ 
tised by the Eastern nations is given in Chapter V, from which 
we quote the following description of the state of the farrieFs 
art among the Chinese : 
In journeying toward the eastern termination of the 
Great Wall, ^ you cannot help bestowing a passing glance at 
the operations of the Ting-chang-ta, as the shoer of hoofs is 
