hard roads, indeed of any roads, will always keep within bounds the most luxuriant frogs. In the first shoeing a colt, it is of the utmost importance that his frogs, if he have a sufficient growth of them, which is not always the case, be brought to touch the earth, not, however, by the use of any measures of force, or of setting the foot in an unnatural or uneven position: the paring around, or moderately lowering the crust of the foot, when so deep as to compress and injure the growth of the frog, is yet not only perfectly safe, but highly necessary. It will soon appear whether the horse's frogs and heels be of that nature to endure the concussion of the hard roads, which most assuredly, notwithstanding much confident assertion, too many never can endure; and, if a bruised frog be not very common, all practical horsemen are enough convinced how extremely liable the heels of horses are to contusion and inflammation. In bad cases of this kind, the only, and too much neglected, remedy of the bar-shoe has been already appreciated: in general, to set such feet upon their natural level, all which ought to be attempted, will require shoe-heels of considerable strength.'

This author professes to be unaware of any essential improvement of the shoe of Osmer, with the exception of the revival by St. Bel of the concave external surface, notwithstanding the numerous variations which have been attempted; and represents the shoes of Osmer and Clark, already described, as still of the highest repute; those of the superior kind of farriers being imitations of the former in certain degrees; whilst those of the lower smiths, especially of the country, resemble yet too much the convex surface, internal concavity, inordinate length, and weight of former days.

Mr. Moorcroft formerly published a pamphlet, consisting chiefly of the directions of the French Veterinary School, for preventing a horse from 'striking the foot or shoe against the opposite leg.' This accident happens to the horse in two modes, by which he either strikes the pastern joint, or the shank above, near the inside of the knee the old English stable terms in this case were knocking, applied to the pastern, and the speedy cut to the shank above. These revived directions produced no more success, nor so much attention, as they originally experienced, and for the following reasons, assigned by Mr. John Lawrence, just quoted, a writer allowed on all hands to be practical. The general cause of knocking and cutting in the horse is mal-conformation, crookedness of the pastern joints, and the toe pointing inward or outward, whence he will strike the opposite leg with either the toe or heel, even if ridden without shoes. Width of chest is no kind of security against this defect: and if any preventive measures by shoeing, recommended by Moorcroft and others, which, beside, have the disadvantage of placing the horse in an unnatural and dangerous position, may have a temporary good effect, it ceases the instant the horse becomes, in the smallest degree fatigued and leg-weary, and even, perhaps, after a few miles travel. On this account, the possessors of horses which wound their legs in action have generally, in former days, and at present,

been under the necessity of adopting the leathern guard as their only resource. The same author disputes, on his own experience, the idea promulgated of late, that the running thrush on the horse's foot is invariably caused by bad shoeing, averring that it is often a constitutional defect in the horse; questions the utility of the ancient practice lately revived, of exposing the naked feet of horses to stone pavement, with the view of hardening them; and strongly reprobates another revival of the practice of unenlightened times, on the obvious principles of quackery, namely, the barbarous and useless mechanical extension of naturally narrow heels.

Mr. Bracy Clark, a respectable veterinary surgeon, has published certain experiments on the foot of the living horse. His object appears to be the partial or total abolition of the use of the iron shoe. Whenever the roads are covered with ice, it becomes necessary to have the heels of a horse's shoes turned up, and frequently sharpened, in order to prevent him from slipping and falling: but this cannot be done without the frequent moving of the shoes, which breaks and destroys the crust of the hoof where the nails enter. To prevent this, it is recommended to those who are willing to be at the expense to have steel points screwed into the heels or quarters of each shoe, which might be taken out and put in occasionally. The method of doing this properly, as directed by Mr. Clark, is first to have the shoes fitted to the shape of the hoof, then to make a small round hole in the extremity of each heel, or in the quarters, about threeeighths of an inch in diameter, or more, in proportion to the breadth and size of the shoe; in each of these holes a screw is to be made the steel points are likewise to have a screw on them, exactly fitted to that in the shoes. Care must be taken that the screw on the points is no longer, when they are screwed into the shoe, than the thickness of the latter. The steel points are to be made sharp; they may either be made square, triangular, or chisel pointed, as may be most agreeable; the height of the point above the shoe should not exceed a quarter of an inch for a saddle horse; they may be made higher for a draught horse. The key or handle that is necessary to screw them in and out occasionally is made in the shape of the capital letter T, and of sufficient size and strength. At the bottom of the handle a socket or cavity must be made, properly adapted to the shape of the steel point, and so deep as to receive the whole head of the point that is above the shoe. In order to prevent the screw from breaking at the neck, it will be necessary to make it of a gradual taper; the same is likewise to be observed of the female screw that receives it, that is, the hole must be wider on the upper part of the shoe than the under part: the sharp points may be tempered or hardened, in order to prevent them from growing too soon blunt; but when they become blunt they may be sharpened as at first. These points should be unscrewed when the horse is put into the stable, as the stones will do them more injury in a few minutes than a day's riding on ice. A draught horse should have one on the point of each shoe, as that gives him a firmer footing in

drawing on ice; but for a saddle horse, when points are put there, they are apt to make him trip and stumble. When the shoes are provided with these points, a horse will travel on ice with the greatest security and steadiness, much more so than on causeway or turnpike roads, as the weight of the horse presses them into the ice at every step he takes.

Besides the common shoe for horses that have sound feet, there are also others of various shapes, determined by the necessity of the case, that is to say, by the different derangements and diseases to which the horse's foot is liable. Such, for instance, are what farriers call the covered, flat, or convex shoe; the patten shoe; the shoe for all feet, simple, double, and hinged; the shoe without nails; the half-moon shoe; the Turkish shoe; and the slipper shoe. Eight nails for each shoe are enough for saddle and light draught horses; but, for such as are employed in heavy draught, ten are required. A smaller number, it is found, do not hold the shoe sufficiently fast; and a greater number, by acting like so many wedges, weaken the hoof, and rather dispose the crust to break off than give additional security.

The manner of disposing the nails has differed considerably at different times. Some writers have directed four to be placed on each side of the foot, and the hindmost near the heel: leaving between the two rows of nails a considerable space of the fore part of the foot without any. The nails thus placed certainly confined the foot at the sides and heels, left the toe at liberty, and assisted materially the effect of the sloping surface of the common shoe, in altering the form of the foot from nearly a round to a lengthened figure. Latterly, it has been strongly recommended to place the nails principally at the fore part of the foot, in order to prevent the heels from being confined. And certainly this is a wiser practice than the former; but, as the foot should rest on the shoe in the whole extent of the crust, it may be thought that the best way of connecting them in every part alike would be that of placing the nails at equal distances from each other in the whole round of the shoe.

However, the objection to this is, that when the foot strikes the ground with considerable force, the back part of it becomes a little broader than when it is in the air, or when the foot is at rest. This spreading is not considerable, nor does it extend far along the sides of the foot, but it is sufficient to act upon the hindmost nails, when near the heels; hence arises the necessity for there being a greater distance between the last nail and the heel of the shoe than between any two nails. Accordingly it may be laid down as a general rule that the last nail should not be nearer the heel than from two inches to an inch and a half. Such a distance has been found sufficient to prevent the heels being confined, and not sufficiently great to allow the shoe to spring, and loosen the last nails, as frequently happens when they are farther distant from the heel.

All the nails should be at equal distances from each other, except the two in front, which should be a little wider apart than the rest; this, however, is not a matter of essential consequence;

but it is of importance that there should not be any nail in the middle of the toe. For, generally, the action of the foot on the ground has a direct tendency to push the shoe, as it were, backwards along the foot; and it sometimes happens that the shoe is actually thus displaced; in which case, it necessarily follows that the nail in the middle of the toe must be driven immediately against the sensible parts behind it; whilst the rest of the nails, in great measure, follow the line of the crust, and so avoid doing mischief to the parts within. The nail-holes on the upper surface of the shoe should come through the seat, close to the edge of the bevel, that the nails may have a proper and equal hold on every part of the crust, which will be shown by the clenched ends being each equally distant from the shoe. As the nail-hole is always made with a taper and square pointed punch, a nail with a head of the same form will fit it better than one of any other shape.

To prevent the necessity of frequent removes, several expedients have been put in practice, Sometimes a few nails, of a larger size than the rest, have been so put in that the heads stood considerably beyond the level of the shoe; but when these did not break off, as was often the case, they soon wore down. At other times nails with large heads, tapering to a point, were screwed into the web of the shoe. Of these, one was usually placed at the toe, and one at each heel. And by this contrivance of the screw it was imagined that the nails might be easily replaced when worn out. They are apt, however, to break off at the neck, and are too expensive for common use. There is, notwithstanding, another plan, which, as far as it has been tried, justifies the author in recommending it. This consists in having nails with a lozenge head, or what may be called a double countersink, terminating in an edge, instead of coming to a point. This greater breadth of surface prevents its being rubbed away as fast as a point; the thickness in the middle gives it strength; and the regular taper to the shank causes it to apply exactly to the sides of the hole in the shoe, by which it is equally supported, and prevented from bending or breaking. There should be four nails to every shoe; that is to say, two in the forepart, and one at each heel.

The heads of these nails must be struck in tools, or dies; the four holes in the shoe must be made to correspond with the neck of the nail; and, when the nail is driven, the workman must cover the head with a tool, which will receive its upper part, and prevent its being injured by the hammer. These nails are, in effect, so many caulkings, with the advantages of allowing 2 more level tread; of being easily replaced, by putting new nails in the old holes; and, by being at a distance from the heel of the shoe, they are not so likely to hurt the opposite leg. The nails and nail-holes, however, employed at the Veterinary College, are very different from those in common use. The latter are stamped with a punch of a particular form: and, the heads being of a conical shape, are received into the nail-holes, so as to preserve their hold as long as the shoe exists. Mr. Spencer is the inventor of

hese nails, which, though made of a more duraole metal, are little more in price than the com

mon sort.

The head of the common nail,' says Mr. Coleman, 'is not conical, but nearly square and no part is received into the nail-hole. When the nail is driven into the shoe, up to the nead, the farrier generally continues to hammer with great violence; and, as the nail-hole cannot admit the head, the texture of the nail contiguous to the head is shivered, and, in a few days, is broken :—whereas the head of Mr. Spencer's nail operates as a wedge; the more it is hammered, the more closely it is connected with the nail-hole, so as to become part of the shoe. Moreover, the head of the common nail, when not injured by the farrier, projects beyond the shoe; and, when worn out, the shoe is liable to come off. This accident will more frequently happen if the nails are placed in the old nailholes of the crust, before the nail-holes of the shoe are punched, the farrier should examine the situation of the former nails; and, by having new crust for the nails, the shoe will be more firmly connected with the hoof.'

It now only remains for us to conclude with some few remarks on the shoeing of other animals employed in the service of man, and especially the mule, the ox, and the ass.

The shoe for the fore feet of the mule is, in general, very similar to that which the farriers call the bar shoe. It is very wide and large, especially at the toe, where it sometimes projects four inches and upwards beyond the hoof. This excess is given it with a view to enlarge the basis of the foot, which is in general exceedingly narrow in this animal. The shoe for the hind feet is open at the heels, like the horse's shoe; but it is lengthened at the toe, like the preceding one. The former is called in French planche, and the latter florentine. The foot of the ass, having the same shape as that of the mule, requires the same kind of shoe, with this only difference, that the shoe for the fore foot is not closed at the heels, and that its edges do not project so much beyond the hoof. The same form of shoe is used for the hind feet of this animal.

The ox's shoe consists of a flat plate of iron, with five or six stamp-holes on the outward edge to receive the nails; at the toe is a projection of four or five inches, which, passing in the cleft of the foot, is bent over the hoof, so as to keep the shoe in its proper place. In many parts of France, where the ox is used for draft, it is sometimes necessary to employ eight shoes, one under each nail; or four, one under each external nail; and sometimes only two, one under the external nail of each fore foot. In the description here given of the mule's and ass's shoe we cannot avoid condemning the cruel and ignorant practice of extending the toe of the shoe so far beyond the toe of the hoof. See VETERINARY ART.

SHOOMSKA, one of the Kurile islands, three leagues south of Cape Lopatka, in Kantschatka. Its inhabitants consist of a mixture of natives and Kamtschadales.

SHOOT, v. a., v. n.,.& Į Pret. I shot; part.
SHOOTER, n. s. [n. s. shot or shotten. Sax.

rcedtan: Goth. skiota; Swed. skiuta. To put forth; emit; push forward; discharge any thing so as to make it fly with speed or violence; to perform the act of shooting; germinate; protuberate; be emitted; move along swiftly as a noun substantive, the act or impression of any thing emitted: endeavour to strike, or act of striking with a missive; a branch from a main stock: a shooter is one who shoots, or uses a missive weapon.

The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him. Genesis. Not an hand shall touch the mount, but he shall Exodus xix. 13. be stoned or shot through. They that see me shoot out the lip, they shake the head. Psalms. None of the trees exalt themselves, neither shoot

up their top among the thick boughs.
Ezekiel xxxi. 14.
A grain of mustard groweth up and shooteth out
great branches.
Mark iv. 32.
I owe you much, and, like a witless youth
That which I owe is lost; but if you please
To shoot an arrow that self way
Which you did shoot the first, I do not doubt
To find both.

This murderous shaft that's shot

Shakspeare.

Hath not yet lighted; and our safest way Is to avoid the aim.

Id.

Pride pushed forth buds at every branching shoot, And virtue shrunk almost beneath the root. Harte.

SHOOTING, among sportsmen, is the killing of game by the gun, with or without the help of dogs. It is now generally confined to flying or running, especially the first; which, by experience, is found to be the best and most diverting way of shooting; indeed there is scarcely any other than these two in use now among gentlemen, for few will watch by a river side to shoot wild fowl; although, about a century ago, to shoot flying was looked on as a rare accomplishment in a sportsman. It is necessary for any person who sports much to have two guns; the barrel of one about two feet nine inches, which will serve very well for the beginning of the season, and for wood-shooting; the other about three feet three inches, for open-shooting after Michaelmas; the birds by that time are grown so shy that your shoots must be at longer distance. But, if you intend one gun to serve for all purposes, a three-feet barrel, or thereabouts, is most proper. You should always have it cocked in readiness, holding your thumb over the cock, lest it go off when you would not have it.

It is generally accounted the best way to aim at the head, if the game fly over your head; but to aim as it were under the belly, if it fly from you; and it will be best to let the game fly a little past you before you fire, for so doing the shot from a gun in general lose or decrease half the will the better enter the body. Shot delivered quantity every ten yards, or thereabouts; so that at forty yards there will not be thrown in above a fourth of what would be into the same space at twenty yards. From which it appears that, if you take aim a foot before a cross shoot at forty yards, you will be the most likely to meet the bird with the centre shot; and which is looked upon to fly the strongest, and to be the more efficacious at long distances, than the diverging shot; for, whatever be the cause of their diverging, it must in some degree retard their motion. But, if there be a brisk wind, it will certainly bend the course of the shot; you must therefore consider, whether the wind blow with the bird, or against it; if it blow with it, you need little more than to observe the general rule; because the wind helps the bird forward nearly as much as it diverts the shot: but, if it fly against the wind, the shot declines more than the bird is retarded, and therefore you ought to take aim at a greater distance before the bird.

One good pointer in the field at a time, if you have patience to attend him, will be sufficient for two men to shoot with; but if you have an old spring spaniel, that is so well under command that you can always keep him near you,