HOOF ( AS. Kg*, hoof, Ger. Hut"; coin fleeted with OChureh Slay. kopyto, hoof. or with Av. safe, hoof1. The exterior homy covering of the (toot of many animals. The healthy soundness of the horse's foot is mainly preserved by permitting it to grow uninjured by the rasp and knife; its toughness is secured, and undue dryness and evaporation preNcontcd, by smearing daily the crust, Sllk, and frog with a little glycerin, or a mixture of a pound of lard and a quarter of a pound each of tar, honey, bees wax, and glycerin melted together. Softness and brittleness of the hoot, which are common sources of cracks and corns, may be remedied by the regular use of such dressings. by placing the feet for several hours daily in thick woolen swabs, kept cool and moist by frequent applications Of cold water, and by encouraging a more healthy growth of horn by (washoutd mild blisters round the coron try band. ('racks. or sand-ooracks, as
they are termed, mostly occur among horses much upon the road, cause lameness, and con stitute unsound !MSS. When and recent, poultieing, thinning away of the crust about the crack, and perfect rest are essential. After the earlier heat and tenderness are removed a hot iron should be drawn at right angles to the crack, both above and below, so as to separate the diseased from the sound horn. Waxed thread or fine wire should be wound round the hoof, and a sound growth of horn stimulated by a blister round the eoronet. The horse's hoofs arc too hard and coarse to be employed for the making of the bet ter (lass of eolith: and buttons, for which purpose the hoofs of cattle are extensit•ely employed. are, however. largely used by manufacturers of prussiate of potash and artificial manures. See CORN.