a forward state. American agents were at Louisiana from its owners, moves forward, work, and American squatters were daily a staunch pioneer, to recommence the game building their block-houses upon Louis- west of the Sabine. 'Liberty and Proianian territory, block-houses which they perty,' we understand, is a favorite rallying sturdily defended when the feeble govern- cry of the Americans. We presume it to ment of the colony strove to dispossess mean their own liberty, and other people's them. Mr. Sealsfield is a zealous defender property. But they may some day find that of the encroaching and restless spirit that so nefarious a maxim cannot, under all circauses the Americans to overstep, on all cumstances, be acted upon with impunity. sides, the limits of their vast territory, as the scum of a foaming beverage overflows the brim of a cup which it does not one quarter fill. We find one Nathan, a squatter in Louisiana during the Spanish dominion, demonstrating, more to his own satisfaction than to ours, the propriety of such inundations. He compares Louisiana to a fertile field, the scanty American settlers to seed-corn, and the Spanish government to the heavy clods of earth that overlay and encumber the latter. But the seeds are too mighty for the clods, which in the course of nature are broken through, and dispersed, and annihilated. Were there, then, no fields left in the States, where seedy gentlemen might plant themselves without plucking up a neighbor's landmark? Doubtless there were, and are, but it is convenient to have a rubbish-heap, out of one's own limits, where worthless or noxious matters may be thrown. And after a while, the gentlemen who, having been guilty of fraudulent bankruptcy, or forgery, or of bowieknifing a newspaper editor, have run the country, and wandered into Texas or some other frontier district, declare themselves From the London Quarterly Review. The Horse's Foot, and how to keep it sound; with Illustrations. By William Miles, Esq. Exeter, 1846. A LIVELY French artist, wishing to exhibladi during their honeymoon they have it English character, drew a Milor and Miridden out together; she is thrown, her horse having stumbled, to whose nose his master applies her smelling-bottle, while the victim of the faux pas lies fainting by herself. Passing these natural consequences of our selling wives like mares at Smithfield, Mr. Miles considers bad farriery as important item in indifferent husbandry. For the want of a nail the shoe was lost; for the want of a shoe, the rider was tost:' and how this is to be prevented is shown in his book, which all good men, married or bachelors, who love sound horse-flesh, should purchase. an the Life Guards, was wounded and taken The author, after serving his country in patriots, horribly oppressed and ill-treated, and implore assistance to enable them to keep the land they have unlawfully usurped. Unfortunately, Mr. Nathan finally shows that it is no abstract love of humanity, no philo- prisoner by hymen. Such is the fortune of sophical desire that the most fruitful terri-war, from which neither Mars nor Majors tory should be peopled by the most industri- are exempt. His occupation was not however gone, when, like Othello, he bade fareous races, that had induced him to pitch his tent in Louisiana, and bully the poor-tirement, near the cathedral of Exeter, he well to plumed troops: buried in happy respirited Spaniards and Creoles. When the retained his love for neighing steeds, as province is made over to the United States, Virgil's cavalry officers when ghosts in whose authorities take possession and pro- Elysium kept up their stable-dutyceed to a regular distribution and sale of the lands, he levants into Texas, to seek a country where there are no sheriffs and no laws. We can easily understand such characters having a wholesome dread of a sheriff, or, at least, of his delegate. Who would have to do with the law?' says Nathan's son. 'Better to cope with Spanish musketeers than with the law.' And therefore Nathan, a good type of his class, having done what he could towards wresting "Quæ cura nitentes Pascere equos, eadem sequitur tellure repostos.' Here our Miles emeritus, possessing a good stud of his own, and enjoying the confidence of his equestrian friends, never wanted four-footed subjects to practice on : not content with theory, he did not mould his sabre into a ploughshare or metaphor, but forged it into horseshoes himself, after the fashion of Mr. Borrow on the great Northern road, or Portia's Neapolitan | ten, and we owe to the horrors of a sudden prince, who could not only talk of his stumble the comfort of Miles on the horse, but shoe him himself;' and his high- Horse's Foot.' This portion of the quadruped, because thicker than a tandem-driver's head, and made, therefore, to be battered without mercy on roads as hard, contains a mechanism inside that is no less exquisite than those mainsprings of grace which are enclosed in the Cinderella slipper of Taglioni. The horny case is lined with thin plates, that are at once elastic and devoid of sensation; thus concussion is broken, and blows are not felt. By this admirable combination of solidity and elasticity, the given and most difficult mechanical problem, to wit, the moving a heavy body with great velocity, is solved. The exterior defensive casing is called the crust' in England, and the wall' in France, where men are unrivalled in making phrases, fortifications, and puffs. ness did well, for actual experiment alone conduces to sound conclusion and safe cal-it outwardly seems to be one solid block, ceolation, which latter, like cookery in the diplomat, constitutes the essence of the Hippiatrist-Heaven save the mark-as the ferrier, the iron working farrier of yore, is called in new-fangled nomenclature. In vain may professors forge ponderous phraseology, eupodology, hippopathology, &c. &c. until ostlers speak Greek; to make horseshoes of iron is the sum of the modern veterinary craft; all the rest is leather and prunella. The shoe is their difficulty and the horse's weal or woe. The ancients never nailed to the feet of animals those coverings which they well knew the use of as occasional protections; and, we believe, fixtures made of unyielding metal were first fastened to the expanding hoof of English horses by William the Conqueror, whose death, a manifest judgment, was caused by the stumble of his foot-wounded steed. The name De Ferrers was assumed by his master of horseshoes, whose noble descendant, free from the false shame of Hippiatrists, still proudly charges his supporter with a horseshoe-argent, the canting badge of this chivalresque ancestor. Mr. Miles, rightly considering the foot to be the important organ of a quadruped destined to go, and the shoe the thing which either makes or mars the foot, has limited his investigations (for the present only, we trust) to these two prominent points, which he has completely mastered, and is indeed a Flavius Vegetius Renatus for so was named the Roman soldier and gentleman who, some 1500 years ago, wrote the first amateur treatise on veterinary art. Our author combines a clear head with a kind heart and a vein of quiet humor; he handles with equal dexterity hammer and scalpel, pen and pencil, paint-brush and engraver's tools: working and writing with a firm hand, his language is so plain that those even who ride, may read and understand. As there is no charlatanerie in his system, there is no technical jargon in his explanations: nay, he publishes so purely for the information of the uninformed,' that his treatise may be safely laid on any dragoon mess-table. Although scarlet is not our color, yet pleasant is a gentle canter on breezy elastic downs, and salutary the constitutional jog in shady lanes, where goosequill and Albemarle-street are forgot This crust is thickest at the fronts of the fore-feet, where the first and greatest shocks are received; and is thinnest-for nature does nothing in vain-at the heels, where expansion, not resistance, is required. The ground-surface of the foot is composed of the sensitive sole, which is endued with a power of descent and ascent, according to the pressure on it from above, and of the frog, a spongy but less finely organized substance, which swells at the back part; bulby and well defined in the unshod colt, 'it is converted,' says Mr. Miles, by the mischievous interference of art-i. e., repeated bad shoeing-into a mere apology for a frog.' He descants on the varieties with the gusto of a French epicure. The subject is important: how indeed can a horse be expected to jump if his frog be inactive? This obvious reflection induced Mr. Coleman of the College' to devise a patent artificial frog,' and a patent grasshopper shoe,' with which hunters were to clear six-barred gates; but both inventions unfortunately broke down, amid grins broader than those provoked by the professor's rhyming namesake. 6 The exact use of the frog, an open question among professional authors, is left so by our amateur: who shall decide when horsedoctors disagree? All, however, are of accord that its functions are most important, although none can tell what they are. The name frog is a corruption from frush—i. e. the fourche (furca) of the French, for which the German equivalent is gabel, not frosh, their bonâ fide frog; the ancient term Xεlidov had also reference to the fork-like of risk from accident or ignorance. A fourform of the swallow's tail; our unmeaning footed beast that has not one leg to stand frog, and its disease, the running thrush upon is not likely to lead to much breaking (frush), when translated into grenouille, of the tenth commandment. and merle courante, occasion doubtful mirth to the parfait marechal of France. Be the names and uses of the frog what they may, the horny wall of the hoof protects three bones in its interior-the coffin, coronet, and navicular the former is let down to the point of the hoof, and represents the first bone of the great toe of the human foot; more correctly speaking, the whole foot of the horse is one toe; the action will be understood by comparing it to that of the fore-finger of our hand, the knee doing the functions of the wrist; a nail driven into this coffin renders a horse dead lame. Nature has placed the second bone, the coronet, on the top of this coffin, as is done at august funerals. The third bone, the navicular, is placed midway behind the two others; although very small, being only 24 inches long in a horse of 16 hands high,' it often bears his whole weight, and from doing all the hard work is the navie' of the locomotive concern; it rests on a cushion that is interposed between it and the frog, and which is softer than those eiderdown pillows on which Cornish miners dream of the reduction of duties on feathers; a tendon passes under the navicular, whose pulley action is facilitated by the secretion of a natural grease. The slightest injury causes inflammation; and 'a speck in the bone no larger than a pin's head produces a lameness that defies human art.' Neptune therefore, veterinarily speaking, was right, when in creating the horse marine, he substituted a tail for the hind legs, by which a pair of these ticklish naviculars were avoided. 'There is, however,' says our author, 'perhaps no word in the English language which its usual one means so little, as the epithet in its true signification implies so much and in "sound" when applied to horses' feet. The great latitude extended to the meaning of words in horse-dealing transactions has shorn it of every attribute which gave it value, until it conveys no other guarantee than this, that the horse is not palpably lame in one foot only: for if he chance to be lame in both fore-feet, the pain of allowing the weight to rest upon either will cause him to pass it as quickly as possible from one to the other, and not only save him from condemnation, but most probably gain for him the reputation of being a quick stepper.'—p. 42. Beware, nevertheless, of hinting, however delicately, that a gentleman's horse's feet are unsound, since the indignation of the owner is almost as sure to be aroused thereby as if you suspected his wife; yet, although the fact need not be mentioned, whenever there is inflammation in the foot, no horse will stand on it; and ‘pointing,' in all its varieties, is a sure indication of an attempt to relieve the navicular joint, and to shift the seat of pain. It is not a 'trick,' as the dealer will say for a horse is too sensible a beast to inconvenience his whole frame-he never plays any tricks on himself, not even a frolicsome bit of bishoping' or exhilarating figging.' ་ The progress of disease in the foot is almost imperceptible, and the development of lameness gradual; the spur of a brutal rider and the natural courage of a generous animal will cause much pain to be borne without flinching, but endurance has its limits: first the step is shortened, then the ground he must in the unequal struggle of Nature against iron; and after sinking his head and neck to remove their weight from the feet, down he comes, decidedly lame, to the surprise of his master, who, from never sus Julius Cæsar, if Pliny and Suetonius write truth, rejoiced in a steed who had human fore-feet, which probably were booted is struck less forcibly-yet yield at last like his grooms. Another Augustan horsefancier buskined the feet of his favorite nag with plates of silver; while Poppea, the extravagant wife of Nero, used gold for her mules. Caligula made a consul of his horse -a job, beyond doubt, since modern author-pecting the growing evil, overlooks the real ities find asses to answer equally for such onerous employment. Be that as it may, classical farriery, when the agricultural mind was instructed in hexameters, is a trifle too poetical for practical men of this prosaic age of iron; and an ordinary quadruped naturally requires double attention, since the greater the number of feet, the greater the chances cause, and attributes the casualty to some recent accident; 'My stupid groom,' &c. Mr. Miles considers warranties, certificates, &c., to be excellent papers wherewith to light cigars; his earnest advice to a gentleman who has just bought a horse is, to set perseveringly to work by good shoeing, a loose box, and plenty of exercise, to endeav 1846.] MILES ON THE HORSE'S FOOT. or to make him sound; and those who follow his suggestions will at least have the best chance of attaining this consummation devoutly to be wished for. good master ought to be able to direct what In shoeing a horse properly, which requires two good hours, and is very seldom done, three points require consideration: the previous preparation of the feet, the form of the shoe, and the manner of fastening it on. As a general rule, a horse should never be shod in his own stable, but always taken to the forge, where, if the shoe does not fit, it can be altered, which cannot be done at home, where the foot must be fitted to the shoe. Many foolish farriers put the foot in order, as they call it, by rounding it, which they fancy looks pretty. This they effect by cutting away the hoof of young colts, and pinching their feet like those of Chinese laWhere dies, until they can scarely walk. whethnature perseveres in one form, man, er making shoes of iron or satin, cannot easily amend the shape. If the horse's foot be fettered, its expansion is circumscribed, by which elasticity is lost and unsoundness originated. The first step before putting on a new shoe is the taking off the old one; the nails must be gently drawn out, which requires as much tact as in managing those of the foot human; all wrenching off, all dragging them violently through the crust, distresses the patient, who struggles to get free as a man does from a rough chiropodist. Forcible extraction injures the lamina of the hoof, which, if once separated, never reunite, but form shaky places,' at which good farriers quake. The shoe once off, the edges of the hoof are to be rasped, and the sole pared out, as a thick one impedes the descent of the coffin bone. An operator errs oftener by removing too little than too much the frog excepted, although from its being cut as easily as Gruyere cheese, and its then looking so smooth and clean, it requires more philosophy than falls to the share of most smiths to resist the temptation to slice away.' Mr. Miles, after defining country farrier experience to be an ' untiring perseverance for years in one un-say that the prevalent notion, that shoes varied plan,' and that generally a mistaken cannot be too light, is an error. one, observes that when gentlemen are con- except at Astley's, are not required to tented to remain without knowledge, smiths dance; and an ounce more or less, which who shoe by rote may be excused-for, after makes too little difference in weight either all, they neither wear the shoes nor ride the to strain or weary the back sinews, prevents horse. The wonder is truly that the owner, a shoe bending, and affords greater protechowever learned and dainty as regards his tion to the sole and frog. own calceolation, on which the comfort of walking depends, remains indifferent to that of the animal by which he is carried. The form of the shoe is a question of great consequence to the horse, and of not less difference of opinion among men: it has perplexed the mind veterinarian from Solleysel, the father of the art, down to the College;' nor can any general rule be laid down, or any standard pattern given, since every horse has his own particular foot, just as every farrier has his own pet conundrum. A wise smith will be governed by the circumstances of every individual case, and will endeavor to make his artificial protection conform as nearly as possible to the model set before him by nature-that guide who never leads astray. The varieties of horseshoes in the 'books,' the 'panton,' the expanding,' the 'paratrite,' &c., exceed those in the shops of Hoby and Melnotte. Mr. Miles has carefully considered the works of his predecessors, and being a thorough master of the anatomy of the horse's foot, has produced, by a judicious selection of the best points of each, coupled with his His shoes, own original invention, a result which leaves nothing to be desired. however, will be better understood by one glance at his engraved specimens than by pages of letter-press; suffice it therefore to 6 Horses, The shoes should be of equal thickness throughout, with a flat ground surface, as those with high heele, A which asinine smiths make in imitation of their own, are dangerously absurd. The ing to ascertain with how few this could be toe, which ought to be raised, is thus low-effected, began with seven for the fore-feet ered, and nature's plan reversed, who el- and eight for the hind ones, which he gradevates the point in order to avoid obstruc-ually reduced to five and six. This limittions. The web should be wide, and of ed number has been found to answer perthe same width throughout, instead of being pinched in because the Vulcan operator likes to see the shoe well set off at the heels.' This is both unphilosophical and detrimental; it deceives the eye of man and injures the foot of the horse. The outer edge of the foot rests on the inner edge of the shoe, and the remaining width of the web projects beyond the hoof;' so that a master who thinks his horse has a good open foot, only has to be proud of a bad open shoe, which both conceals deformities underneath and 'invites with open arms a bad road to come and do its worst.' The heels are made bare just where the navicular joint is the most exposed; and if that be inflamed, what must the agony be when the unprotected foot treads on a sharp flint? The horse 'falls suddenly lame,' or 'drops as if he had been shot,'-' phrases in much too common use to require explanation;' and small is the pity which the suffering animal meets with from man; who having first destroyed the use of his victim's feet, abuses him because he cannot go; and imputes 'grogginess' to him as a crime, as if he were in liquor like a groom, and not in agony. fectly, and our author's views were entirely corroborated by an intelligent and practical bagsman whose life is spent on horseback, and by the veterinary surgeon of a dragoon regiment accustomed to escort the Queen at tip-top pace. Thin small nails are the best, as making the smallest holes in the crust; they should be driven into the outer quarter, where the crust is the thickest, and not forced in too high, but with the points brought out as soon as possible, and clenched down broadly, and then not too neatly rasped away, which weakens their hold. The heels and inside quarters are to be left free. The misery and destruction entailed on horses by nailing their shoes on both sides of the feet are entirely obviated by this simple system of one-sided nailing, which is unquestionably the discovery that does most honor to modern farriery; accordingly its adoption is pressed upon all owners and lovers of the noble animal, by Mr. Miles, with arguments that must carry conviction to all who have heads. This grand specific diminishes at once the continual struggle between the expansion of the foot and the contraction of the iron. Thus fitted on, the shoe becomes a real comfort and protection to the wearer, instead of being a torment and incumbrance, and the foot is left nearly in a state of nature. From the ease which this gives the animal, one-sided nailing will often cure the habit of cutting,' or of spoiling his silk stockings, as old Solleysel terms this uncomfortable trick. The errors of a vicious shoe, and the merits of a good one, are set forth by Mr Miles in several drawings which he has lithographed himself. By placing the two specimens in odious comparison, the reductio ad absurdum is complete. He was enabled to offer this treat to the public by having most fortunately purchased a horse in Devonshire with four genuine Damnonian It is also the surest method of preventing shoes, in which all possible defects were corns, which are the curse of the stable, concentrated. The originals are nailed and, if Mr. Eisenberg's testimonials be not over his stable door, to the terror of every mere puffs, of the house of lords. These witch, farrier, and old woman in the west corns, white in the feet of noblemen, are, of England. A propos de bottes, when a it may be remarked, red in those of horses, shoe is properly forged, there is no danger being the result of lacerated inflamed bloodin applying it so hot to the hoof as to burn vessels; for what is called a 'corn,' being the crust, since irregularities of the surface in fact a bruise, is produced by pressure are thus discovered and easily removed. In from the heels of the coffin-bone, which itfixing, or putting on the shoe, it should rest self suffers from loss of expansive power in only on the horny rim of the hoof; it must the hoof, since Nature, who abhors sinenot press on the sole, and thus cramp its cures worse than Joseph Hume, never conspringy operation; or encumber the heels, tinues the same measure of effective repawhere the crust is the thinnest and the pow-ration to structures which are not employed, er of expansion the greatest. As to the ve- that she does to those constantly occupied y important manner of fastening it on, and in their allotted tasks. number of nails to be used, Mr. Miles, wish The corn in the horse as well as his mas |