The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-02-10

STYLES IN HoRSEsHoEs.
fhose of Other Countries Clumsy
Compared With Ours.

(From the St Louis Globe Democrat.)
| On Twelfth Street near the new cit,
| hall, is a show window that holds MANY
| attractions for horsemen and lovers OF
| the curious. 1t contains nothing but rusty
| discolored horseshoes. but such is the va
| riety and character of the collection that
it is surpassed by but one other in ex-
istence. Shoes ranging in style and beau
| ty from the dainty racing plate that has
been worn by thoroughbreds in record
| breaking performances to the antiquat ed
| patterns used more than $50 years ago are
in the collection, and about each shoe
| something of interest can be told by f. C.
| Snow. the owner of the collection
Probably the oldest and most valued of
| the collection is a shoe known to have
been made by Pontiac Indian in 1I43. The
shoe was for years exhibit in the De
troit Historical Society's headquarters.
but came to its present owner through a
member of the Case family. in whose pos
session the shoe has been kept for gener-
atoms. Considering the tools and the pc
Rod the shoe Is really an excellent piece
of workmanship.
The calks. or toes. as people IMMERSED
| in shooting lore would term them. are
small, the whole shoe showing that, with
the exception of the improvement in man.
ufacture, the general conception of the
horseshoe of that period is still the basis
rarely seen in these days are those FOR
oxen. Each OK wore eight shoes in the o'd
days, one on either toe on each foot. Like
the horseshoes of the early part of tn
century, those for oxen now used in the
West, have been changed but little in re-
cent decades
The smallest shoes in the collection are
those OF burros, from the Rockies and
Old Mexico. In contrast with them the
in Ifcb nd
Belgium are most noticeable. Both the
larger makes are clumsy and exhibit poor
workmanship. The average size of Eng
lish shoes is greater than that of any
other country.
Comparison of American horseshoes
with those of other countries easily gives
the palm to manufacturers in this coun-
try. specimen of the French shoe OF
the variety known as country shoe"
shows clumsy workmanship on a poorly
shaped shoe with which square-headed
nails are used. From Arabia Mr. Snow
has secured two specimens of the shoes
used upon the famous steeds of the
desert is. One is a rough-shaped plate of
hammered iron. From this blank the shoe
is shaped to provide what horsemen know
as roller notion The toe is turned
up at an angle of a. degrees. the ends
being shaped and fastened together with
iiftts IHStedu VI btiHs dS lHio
country. Such a shoe would kill horse
if used upon the cobblestOnes OF st. Louis.
Probably odd shoe is found in
the collection is one that was used in
ireland. The iron shoe proper is of COM
mon pattern, save that it has two Tugs.
or projections. pierced with screw holes.
By means of screws the shoe is fastened
TO a board platform two inches thick and
about twelve inches square.
When it is desired to use the horse upon
one of the peat boys the wooden platform
is screwed or bolted fast to the horses
shoe. Despite the awkwardness of such
footwear, their wearers soon learn to
avoid stumbling and make surprising
Roadway. Similar shoes are worn in the
peat boys in California.
Among the new varieties of shoes are
those with rubber heel plate or cushion,
designed to break the conclusion of the
heavy blows struck by horses when NOV
ing rapidly over granite payements. Such
shoes are worn by the horses in the city
ambulance service. Among the other GU
rios in the collection are mule shoes
from Havana and Santiago. one from
Guayamas, Porto Rico, near which Battery
A came so close to a baptism of fire.
Shoes from Australia and from dozen
other countries, all of which are little
better in workmanship than those used
in this country half century ago, and
not equal to the shoes worn by the av-
erage dray horses in this country. Though
many nailless shoes have been invented,
they have never been successful.