NEW THEORY OF THE ETIOLOGY OF SHOE-BOIL. 
615 
that they see him at his best, and it is there that their taste is 
cultivated and the desire to possess him intensified. The vet¬ 
erinarian can do much to strengthen an interest in these exhi¬ 
bitions, and to insist upon their purity, and he should not omit 
an opportunity of doing so. 
WE take much pleasure in announcing that, beginning with 
the January number, Prof. L. A. Merillat, of the McKillip 
Veterinary College, Chicago, Ill., will conduct for the Review 
a “Department of Surgery.” The reputation of this well- 
known veterinarian as a surgeon of the first rank is such that 
we can promise our readers a rare treat for the coming year, and 
we extend to them our congratulations in advance. All corre¬ 
spondence relating to this department should be addressed to 
Prof. Merillat direct. 
ORIGINAL ARTICLES. 
NEW THEORY OF THE ETIOLOGY OF SHOE-BOIL. 
By George J. Goubeaud, D. V. A, Brooklyn, N. Y. 
Read before the New York County Veterinary Medical Association at its October 
Meeting. 
As in other arts and sciences, so it is in medicine : those 
cherished ideas and opinions we possess we are loath to cast 
aside. In most of our text-books, the authorities tell us that 
shoe-boil is caused by the improper application of the shoe ; the 
heels being too long press upon the skin of the elbow and the 
structures beneath it, while the horse is lying in the recumbent 
position, injuring them, thus producing the characteristic lesion 
termed capped elbow or shoe-boil. The character and unsight¬ 
liness of the enlargement, and also the complications, depend 
upon the extent of the injury, duration, and the continued appli¬ 
cation of the cause producing it. It is not my intention nor 
purpose to enter into a consideration of the pathology of this 
