House and Garden 
In writing to advertisers please mention House and Garden. 
is the old English rule. And it is as 
true as gospel. The feet should always 
be kept clean in the stable, and at night 
they should be packed with sponge or 
felt. The feet of a horse are an impor¬ 
tant part of him, and every owner should 
see that they are well looked after. And 
in accomplishing this he will not find 
it an easy job, for a horse has to have 
his shoes changed every three or four 
weeks, and if the feet he not ruined by 
the farrier or the fads of the groom or 
coachman, then he is lucky. Every man 
who has anything to do with horses 
sooner or later develops notions as to 
horseshoeing, the blacksmith usually 
knowing much less than any one else, 
but confident that he knows it all. He 
should know it all, as to shoe horses is 
his business. As a matter of fact, how¬ 
ever, his practice, if he be permitted to 
have his own sweet will, is to lame 
horses and ruin their feet. There are a 
few good horseshoers, however, and if 
an owner find one in his neighborhood 
he is lucky. I shall not attempt, however, 
to write a treatise on horseshoeing. There 
are hooks in abundance on the subject, 
and any man who wishes to become an 
accomplished amateur on the subject 
can find plenty to study, and also an 
abundance of instructions. But there 
are a few principles that dominate all 
else. The shoes should be neither too 
large nor too small. A large shoe 
stretches the hoof too much; a small 
shoe pinches the hoof and makes corns. 
Then do not permit the blacksmith to 
pare the sole or the frog of the foot or 
rasp or burn the hoof to make it fit the 
shoe he has selected. The shoe should 
be made to lit the hoof, and as few nails 
used as is consistent with security. As 
the hoof is growing all the time, just as 
a man’s finger-nails grow, the shoes 
need often to be changed, so that they 
will not be too small, and so contract 
the hoof. The ideal horse is the bare¬ 
foot horse, but this is not possible when 
a horse is used on pavements or hard 
roads. Then the shoe should not be 
too heavy. Heavy shoes merely make 
a horse’s work very much harder. 
The feeding and watering of a horse 
are most important. The horse can 
carry only a little food, as his stomach is 
small compared with his size and need 
of nourishment. But he can drink a 
good deal of water. He should have 
both food and water equal to his needs. 
He should always be fed three times a 
Interlocking Rubber Tiling 
New York Belting and Packing Co., Ltd. 
91-93 Chambers Street, New York City 
fr - 
The Standard for Excellence 
IN BUILDERS’ 
Particularly adapted for Court Houses, Banking Institutions, Church Aisles, Hospitals, 
Libraries, Business Offices, Restaurants, Vestibules, Elevators, Kitchens, 
Laundries, Pantries, Bathrooms and for Steamships 
and Floating Property generally. 
ORIGINAL MANUFACTURERS 
Kitchen, showing Interlocking Rubber Tiling in residence of Mr. Webb Horton, 
Middletown, N. T. 
FINE 
HARDWARE 
With Correct Designs in 
all the Leading Schools of 
Art is found in the produc¬ 
tions of 
P. & F. 
CORBIN 
N. W. Corner 
Eighth and Arch Streets 
PHILADELPHIA 
