Morning journal and courier., 1893-07-06

Mr.. ODea, San Frsncisco blacksmith,
hiss on exhibition at his shop on Gssry
street set of horseshoes made of alumni
mum, the fret of the kind ever turned
out on the Pacific coast.
81 had to send east for the material !"
said Mr.. O'Des "Ay business has been
devoted in great degree to making shoes
for trottiDg horses, and 1t is to that branch
of the trade that the introduction of alum
inium shoes seems likely to prove impor-
tant and beneficial"
Mr.. O'Dea explained that the material
with which he worked was not exactly to
his liking, it being In the shape of FIVE
eighths inch round bar, whereas to make a
good job 1t ought to have been five eighths
wide and three eighths thick, o. something
near tina. proportion.
"Ny idea is that aluminium horseshoes
will soon be turned out by the ton, or
rather by the cord, for they are rather too
light to go by weight. The eastern fscto-
ries will supply them in shapes to suit
the requirements of the trade-big, little
and medium. The shoes made cost me
one dollar and twenty cents each for the
material. That would make four shoes
cost four dollsrs and eighty cents. The
aluminium l had / forged cold, for 1t
wouldn't stand much more fire than lead
will. 1t didn't work as freely as good
iron or steel would do, SO should say that
with the material, the making and the set
ting 1t ought to bring the present expense
of full get of aluminium shoes up to
about ten dollars.
"That looks a trife high for shoeing
horse, Pn admit, but It's nothing com
pared with the result If 1t gives your horse
second or even half second better IN q
mile, and the cost will not be much more
than iron once the factories begin on them.
Here is a sample steel shoe. It weighs
about seventeen ounces. An aluminium
shoe of that s'zs would pull down not
quite nine ounces. You sse the eaving in
weight is very considerable.
GAS practical shoer of trottipg horses,
some of which have to be weighted In or
der to correct their gait, can see that the
future use of the light metal may be great
ly extended. By the combination of heavy
and light metals the weight may be sd-
justed at the toe or heel, according to the
requirements of the situation. No meth
cd for making the combination has been
invented, so far as know, but that will
bs arranged when the necessity arises.
II don't know that aluminium will ever
do much for running horses 1t may hslp
them by giving them C broader foundation
with less weight than the steel plates now
/ in use. The thin, narrow rims ara raid 10
| burn the hoofs, but tina. 10 something i
have not had experience with"
| Samuel Gamble, well known as an au
thority In trottin- horse literature, said
aluminium is a big sEccess already in
shoeing horsss. Back east lots of horse,
men use 1t. The best way to show yor
what think is to tell yoa what 1 did
Lsst year some shoes were sent from th,
east to be used on Stamboul.
"Owiug to so much advice of a contra
dictory character Ii was decided that STAN
boul shouldn't have them. put them or
| Alta Belle, q brood mare with a bad leg
1t seemed to bs Just what she wanted, fol-
| at the first trial she went a half In 1:l0
which was much better than she had evel
done before. She went the three-quarteri
in :46 Nsbody dreamed she could do Il
that we'll. She had great knee action, ant
the light snoes supplied what she needed
in the way of prote ction to the hoof with
out making loaded batteriug ram of th
| foot. With the kind OF material that
had on Alta Belle 1 should cay that a on
and one-half ounce hind shoe took tn
place of nine ounce iron or steel shos
aud three and one half forward sho
| supplied all the requirements of a sixteel
ounce shoe made ot the ordinary metal.
II don't think there will be any com
plant about the wearing quality of slami
mum. We used Alta Belle as a buggy ami
NAL and drove her almost every day on al
most every kind of road, and her Alumni
um shoes lasted In good shape for month
don't see what you would want belts
than that"
Frank 81. Burke, first vice president o
the Pacific Coat Trotting Horse Breeders
association, is enthusiastic on the subjec
of aluminium as applied to racing. III
a great thing" he said. "That has bee
demonstrated in New York and othe
states. True gated horses-those ths
naturally go levsl-will be the ones nos
\ benefited.
sIi will come mighty near making ther
feel natural, and that is help to any liy
ing creature. LAST year l had some c
those shoes on Wanda. iust for an expsr
ment, but 1t was late in the season. an
she was not herself, 30 1 had no opportu
. nifty for fair trial or one on which
, could rely, 90 far ss personal experieno
is concerned. I am satisfied that alum
mum is the proper thing for trotteri
however, and intend to give It practIc.
application from now on"
Adam Andrew. q member of the Sacr,
/ mento Turf and Driving club, wasn't SUI
that aluminium would bring g speed
,, realization of the two minute record pr,
dicted by Bonner and Endorsed by Star
!, ford. THAT must bs matter of deve
opment," Mr.. Andrew said, "but if 1t
in the possibilities aluminium will do
OF course it will help the trotter. Ju
think of yourself going around trac
with fifty ounces of dead weight on yor
feet, and then how you would feel
r you should be set down with only q,
: ounces on your feet. Don't You thin
you'd notice the diFerencei I should "a
8 you would. SO does q horse. The ca
l.. ryiDg of those forty-fve extra ounc,
would not matter 30 much with q hori
a If the weight could be equalized sll ov,
the body, but to take the burden from Il
feet, right where the horse would like
), get rid of it, that is the strong point
favor of a1umipiupo