The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1882-07-26
THE FEMININE Foor
H"w Ili-Made CATERS, Dancing and Rope
skipping Destroy the Arch
of the Instep.

One of the Oldest orthopedic surgeons In
New York yesterday told reporter that the
number of cases of splayed feet in this city
was large and rapidly increasing.
What in the world are 'splayed feet 2"
esked the reporter.
Why, a splayed foot is fiat foot or one
in which the arch of the instep has been
broken down.
Pray, why should people living in the
city of New York break down the arches Of
their instepsf"
They dot by wearing high-heeled shoes.
OF course, am speaking of young girls and
misses and not of grown-up persons of eth
er sex. Now, the misses and young ladies
of France wear heels that are even higher
than we are accustomed to Zee in this coun-
try. But the heel of the French shoe IL
placed well forward, almost under the middle
of the foot, so that the arch or instep is sup.
ported just as the span of bridge Ii s,ss
tainea by a tower on abutment under the
middle of the span. Our shoemakers place
the heel further back. This lengthens the
span aud increases the strain"
Do you often come across these eases of
brokendown instepsY"
They are by no means uncommon.
They arc almost exclusively confined to fe-
males, and the weaker the general eonstitu-
ton the more likely is the foot to suffer-
"What is the difference in the appearance
of pair of feet that are splayed and pair
that are not splayed ~
All the difference in the world. The
natural foot is beautifully arched at the cen.
tire, especially in females. A person who
has high instep has MS good right to be
proud of it ms any person with classic fea
lures has to be proud of the image that he
sees reflected when he looks at the mirror.
Splayed foot is most common among peas.
ants of some of the European countries
where the people are obliged to do hard
work, such as carrying heavy burdens at a
very early age. In such cases, especially If
the child is poorly fed or naturally weak, the
hgaments sustaining the arch of the foot are
very apt to give way by degrees. and then
We have pair of feet as fiat rs the paws OF
q grizzly bear. And yet | should hardly
make such comparison, for broken down
foot is worse than fiat; it curves the other
way so that the toes are always pointing up
wards
. Aud the cause of this deformity is en-
tirely attributable to the defective construe.
ton of high heeled shoes?p
No, not entirely. 1 think it Is some.
times produced by children beginning to
dance almost ms soon as they are able 20
walk, such as we see i'll some German COM
munties In dancing the little youngster
sometimes sustains the whole weight of the
body ON the tips of the toes quarter of an
honr at a stretch. The bones at that age are
little less than cartilage, and can very cas-
lily be defomed. As proof of this you have
only to recollect the Chinese practice of shap-
ing the feet of their female children. sup
pose the feet of young girls of tender consti.
i Try fh6 Topt tspSeaiy Ii s6a raIs II En-
duance where they pit themselves to sec
who. can jump the greatest number of times
without stopping"
" How about roller-skating, which has
lately become SO popular ?"
"There can be no doubt that q little exer-
Else each day at roller-skating would strength.
en- and invigorate the muscles of the legs
But the trouble is, the girls we see playing at
roller-skating ON the sidewalks and in the
parks aro allowed to greatly overdo the bust
ness. The result is that instead of we'll
rounded, plump, muscular limbs, we see,
after few weeks practice, a pair of attenu-
ated 'broom-sticks,' accompanied by wan
expression of the countenance aud an unnat-
ural nervousness of the whole organization.
Oh, if the people of this world would only
make use of the common sense with which
Kind Nature has endowed them!"