SHORT NOTES ON PROFESSIONAL SUBJECTS. 
95 
Now, as to the shape of shoe which best answers the purposes previously des¬ 
cribed, viz., lightness, durability, and requiring few nails. 
By referring to the plates, which represent the ground and foot surfaces of the 
shoe, you will observe that the shoe is much wider at the toe than elsewhere ; this 
on the principle of an arch gives great strength, much greater than if the iron was 
thicker and the web narrower ; so that the shoe can be made thinner and lighter 
without fear of breaking at the toe or spreading, one of which results not unfre- 
quently occurs when it is light, and at the same time narrow at the toe* 
