The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-12-18 00:00:00

"ROUGHING" HORSES.
(From the Sanitary Record.)

During at least three months every winter, we are
subject to severe and sudden changes of weather, which
render our streets so slippery that traffic is almost
brought to a standstill. The ordinary pedestrian can-
not help noticing the frightful difficulties experienced
by horses drawing even light loads. The practical
horseman knows that, leaving aside the risk of sprains
and tads, the energy expended by a horse in keeping
his balance over a mile of ice-covered road is quite
equal to that required for a four mile journey under
ordinary circumstances. But few persons, however,
are aware of the result of all this misery—stables con-
tain idle horses, lame and injured, for weeks after, and
the horse, slaughtering establishments are crowded with
the fatal accidents which occur all over the town.
This heavy loss is only avoidable by having the
horse's shoes "roughed" Unfortunately this opera-
tion requires the removal of the shoes, which, besides
being expensive, is not unfrequently productive of
,Much damage to the feet. Horse owners, therefore,
lay.id " roughing " as much as possible, and send their
'horses to work with smooth shoes, hoping each day
will bring a change of weather.
We incline to believe that no prudent or humane
man would find his economy in working his horse even
one day in smooth shoes, if he were convinced of the
success of any cheap plan by which a horse could be
"roughed" in the stable by his driver. The plan of
having holes in the heels of the shoes, into which steel
"sharps" or spikes may be screwed when necessary, is
pretty widely adopted in the West End of London,
and, when done properly, is quite successful, but it is
expensive, costing, in fact, nearly double the price of
ordinary shoeing.

Mr. Fleming, of the Royal Engineers, has, how-
ever, tried a plan suggested to him from Russia, which
he strongly recommends, and which is free from the
objections of great expense. It consists simply of
punc,bing a square hole in each heel of the shoe, which
in ordinary weather may be kept closed by a piece of
cork. In frost the cork is removed, and a steel spike
inserted. If this steel 'rough' be made to fit the hole
exactly, it remains firm in its place, and is not liable
to break off short at the neck like some of the screwed
spikes. The economy of this method consists in its
saving the expense of the screw. Putting a ' thread '
into the holes of the shoe and into the steel spikes is a
tedious process, occupying much time, and therefore
is costly. If Mr. Fleming's suggestion were widely
adopted, the square steel spikes could be supplied at
a very low figure, as machinery could be made to turn
out three or four different sizes, each of uniform
gauge, and the farriers could punch the holes to fit
them with great exactness. We commend this plan
to the notice of the large horse-owning firms, believing
that it only requires a trial to establish it as the best
system of roughing' extant.

Christmas always brings a busy time for horses, and
those who receive an annual hamper from the country
know how, even in ordinary weather, the carriers are
over-weighted, and the delivery of goods rendered very
irregular. A return of the recent slippery weather
during Christmas week would increase these difficul-
ties tenfold, but the adoption of a good system of
' roughing ' would save at least 20 per cent. in the cost
of horse-haulage.

In connection with this subject, "C. A. W." writes to The
Times:—

"In confirmation of the suggestion of A Lover of
Horses' in your columns of a few days ago as to rough
shoeing, I beg to state that, for upwards of thirty
years in England, and also during a residence in
Northern Germany, where the variations of frost and
thaw are often very sudden, I have always had my
horses' shoes during the winter months made with flat-
headed screws in the heels, which can be exam:444 in
a few minutes for screws with roughed heads. The
Shoes -are', of course, a little more expensive, because
the roughing screws are made of steel, and some steel
is welded in the heel for drilling the necessary worm;
but on the whole little more is laid out than the con-
stant removal of shoes and roughing would cost, and
there is the great counter advaatage of not breaking
the hoofs to pieces, and of having your horses ready in
five minutes upon sudden change from thaw to frost.
The German farrier had never heard of this arrange-
ment, but after a time he told me he drove a very good
trade in the winter months with this to him and others
new sort of shoe."

_ .
SUNDAY SCHOOLS FOR THE CHINESE.

The Vallejo (California) Chrowicle says:—" It may
not be generally known that there are nowtwo Chinese
Sunday Schools that meet regularly in this city, one
coHnectt.d with the Presbyterian and the other with
the Baptist Church. Evidence shows that the Chinese
attend the Sunday Schools, not becatige they -ars
thirsting for religiouS instruction, but for the reason
that it is a good chance to get an Englisb education;
and they are indulged in their prefetente, for labour
P p-qit in impressing upon them the truths of Chris-
tianity would be thrown away while teachers and pupils
have no common medium of language. The method
of instruction ad( pted is not the teaching of pupils '
to translate from one language into the other, as
langusges are usually taught in the public schools;
but, beginning with the alphabet, the written language
is taught in the same way as to young children in the
primary schools. Most of the Chinese display great,
not to say wonderful, aptitude for learning the
alphabet and the first reading lessons, and acquiring
correct pronounciation. It is pretty well known that
at, educated Chinaman will pronounce English
better than almost any other foreigher, which is the
result Of certain similarities in soundof English 'and
Chinese. In learning lessons which must liexdoih.
mitted to memory the Chinese display the greatest
quickness, which, however, is not so surprishag
when it is known that the acquirement of a Chinese '