Chapter 5

As France had received her whole culture from the south, and as the crusades especially brought the Roman nation in close contact with them for centuries, so it cannot appear strange that the old French horseshoe, a form of which has been preserved by Bourgelat and is represented by Fig. 14, still remained in the smooth, turned up in front and behind, like the shoe of the southern climates, with Asiatic traces, which hold on the ground, the same as all southern shoeing, by the nail heads.

The transit of the German empire, in order to keep up the historical course, once more brings us back to the middle of the fifth century. At this time Attila, the "Godegisel" (gods' scourge), left his wooden capitol in the lowlands near the river Theis, to go to the Roman empire and to the German and Gallican provinces, there to spread indescribable misery to the horrors of judgment day.

The following is a prayer in those days of horror:

"Kleiner Huf, kleines Ross, Krummer Sabel, spitz Geschoss-- Blitzesschnell und sattlefest: Schrim uns Herr von Hunnenpest."

We are at present reminded of those times of fright, when during the clearing and tilling of the soil, a small roughly made horseshoe is found in Southern Germany, about as far as the water boundary of the Thuringian forest, and occasionally on, but principally around Augsburg, and in France as far as the Loire.

These shoes, covering the margin or wall of the foot, show slight traces of having been beveled on the lower surface, and contain two bent calks very superficially placed. Occasionally they are sharpened and turned in two directions. The characteristic wide bean-shaped nail holes are conical on the inside, and are frequently placed so near the outer margin of the shoe that from the pressure the hoofs were likely to split open. The nail heads were shaped like a sleigh runner, and almost entirely sunk into the shoe. It evidently was not bent up at the toe, like the old form of these kinds of shoes.

These shoes, according to our conception of to-day, were so carelessly finished that in the scientific circles of historical researches they were, until very recently, looked upon as saddle mountings or something similar, and not as horseshoes.

This shoe was for some time, while it was plentifully found in France, regarded as of Celtic make; but this is certainly not the case, as it is of Hunish and Hungarian "nationalitat" (nationality). An exactly scientific proof, it is true, according to our present knowledge, cannot be furnished; however, it will stand well enough until the error is proved.

This peculiar kind of horseshoe has been found in South Germany and Northeast France, as far as the region of Orleans, where, as it has been proved, the Huns appeared. This, therefore, speaks for their descendants: 1st, the far extended and yet sharply limited places of finding the shoe; 2d, the small size corresponds to the historically proved smallness of the Hunish horse; 3d, the hasty and careless make, which does not indicate that it was made by settled workmen; 4th, the horseshoe (Fig. 15) bespeaks the Hunish workmanship of the present Chinese shoe, which, in making of the nail holes, shows to-day related touches of the productions of the Mongolian ancestors.

Aside from the peculiar shaped nail holes, the characteristic of the Hunish shoe consists in the changes of the calks for summer and winter shoeing, as well as in the sinking of the nail heads. The Huns, therefore, aside from the indistinctly marked attempts of the Romans in this direction, which are the only ones known to me, must be regarded as the inventors not only of the calks, but partly, next to the Normans, also of the sharpened winter shoeing, and of the not unimportant invention of sinking the nail heads observed in Fig. 15.

The Hunish shoeing was therefore an important invention for the Germans. After centuries later, wherever horseshoeing was practiced, it was done solely according to Hunish methods; whereby the shoe was very possibly made heavier, was more carefully finished and in course of time showed an attempt to bend the toe (Fig. 16a).

In the Bomberg Dom we find an equestrian statue, not unknown in the history of art, which was formerly held to be that of Emperor Conrad III. At present however the opinion prevails generally that it represents "Stephen I., den Heiligen" (Stephen I., the Saint).

Stephen I., the first king of Hungary, formerly was a heathen, and was named "Najk." He reigned from 997 to 1038. His important events were the many victorious wars led against rebellious chieftains of his country, and he was canonized in 1087. His equestrian monument in Bomberg Dom was, in consequence, hardly made before the year 1087. Notwithstanding that the Huns had been defeated 500 years before on the plains of Catalania, the horse of the above mentioned monument carries, as I have convinced myself personally, Hunish horseshoes, modified, however, by blade-shaped calks just then coming into use. This is proof that, at least in Hungary, the Hunish method of shoeing was preserved an extraordinary long time. By this it has not become improbable that at least the many shoes of this kind which were found on the Lechfield come, not directly from the Huns, but from their successors, the Hungarians, whose invasions took place in the first half of the tenth century.

About the same time of the Hungarian invasions, the Normans began to disturb the southwestern part of Europe with their Viking expeditions. Their sea kings seem to have been equestrians at very early times, and to have had their horses shod, although perhaps only in winter; at least the excavation of the Viking ship in 1881 disclosed the remains of a horse which was shod. The shoeing consisted only of a toe protection--"Brodder" (Bruder, Brother)--provided with a small sharp calk, and fastened by two nails.

When later, in the year 1130, the Norwegian king Sigard Yorsalafar, during his journey to Jerusalem, entered Constantinople, his horse is said to have carried only the small toe-protecting shoes.

The art of horseshoeing, immediately after the migration of the nations, came near our improvement of the same to-day; especially near the reputed discoveries met with, which consist simply of iron protection for the margin of the hoof, fastened by nails. The heads were sunk into the shoe so as to increase its firmness. Special consideration was given to local and climatic conditions through the introduction of toes and heels.

The mechanism of the hoof also found remarkable consideration, inasmuch as they apparently avoided driving nails too close to the heel end of the shoe. Notwithstanding this early improvement in the art of horseshoeing, the Huns (as stated before) took a prominent part. It appears to have taken a long time after the migration of the nations for shoeing to become general, as is shown by various descriptions of tournaments, pictures of horses, etc.

We will mention in the first place the "Percival des Wolfram von Eschenbach," as well as "Christ von Troies," where there is a great deal said about horses, horse grooms, and tournaments, but nowhere in those works is any mention made of horseshoeing. Likewise is found the horse on the coat of arms of Wolfram von Eschenbach, in the Manessi collection in Paris, which was begun in Switzerland in the fourteenth century; but, although we find this horse most beautifully finished, it was not shod.

During the time of the crusades, 1096-1291, however, there appeared suddenly in Germany a plate-like horseshoe of southern character (Figs. 18 and 19), which was occasionally bent upward at the heel end, and was very heavy. The toe was very broad sometimes, and was also bent upward. In this form we have seen the shoes of the Balkan and Pyrean peninsula. The shoe was remarkably narrow at the heel, and was supplied with calks, which accounts for the highness of the back part of the shoe. Frequently we find one calk set diagonally, but the other drawn out wedge shaped, and sharp; so that there existed a great similarity between this iron shank and that used by Count Einsiedel for winter shoeing. Sometimes both shanks were sharpened in this way, or were provided with blade-shaped calks well set forward. The form of nail holes used was very characteristic of that of the Huns, but they were decidedly smaller and square, as were seen in the African shoe of the twelfth century. The nail heads were slightly sunk, which was according to southern customs.

That this shoe really belongs to the period of the crusades is proved by the numerous horse pictures which have been preserved from that time; of which we will mention the manuscript of Heinrich von Veldecka ("Eneidt")[4] in the year 1180, which belongs to the most valuable parts of German history of art.

[Footnote 4: "Wanderungen des Aeneas" (Travels of Aeneas).]

This south European Hunish horseshoe had remained the standard form during the middle ages and until the thirty years war, at least in South Germany. The shoe was continually improved, and reached its highest point of perfection about the time of the "Bauern-krieg" (Revolution of the Peasants), at a time when, under the leadership of the Renaissance, the whole art of mechanics, and especially that of blacksmithing, had taken an extraordinarily great stride (Figs. 20 and 21).

The shoe (Figs. 22 and 23) is found in Franconia, in all places where, in the sixteenth century, battles had been fought with the rebellious peasants. We may, therefore, be justified in fixing its origin mainly from that period, for which also speaks its high perfection of form. We find here still the bent-up heel and toe (the latter broad and thin) of the south European form.

The staved rim of the Spanish Arabic Turkomanic shoe is observed to be undergoing a change to that of a groove. The broad surface of the shoe evidently led to the beveling of the same, so as to lessen sole pressure. The size of the nail holes remains still like that of the Huns; but the unsunk southern nail heads yet serve to improve the hold on the ground. The calks were next placed forward, perhaps from an uncultivated sense of beauty, or from the high bending up of the hind part of the shoe, which would necessitate a high and heavy unsightly calk.

From this time on horseshoeing in south Germany fell back very quickly, and loses all scientific holds of support after the thirty years war. In the mean time toe protection in the form of a calk had spread from the colder north over southern Germany; whereas this north German invention did not find favor in England in consequence of her mild oceanic climate.

Also, the calks in England, as well as in the southern countries, on the same ground, therefore, with good reason, could at no time be adopted. This did, however, not interfere with the use of the calk in the colder south Germany, where after a use of nearly 1,500 years it has maintained its local and climatic adaptation. Notwithstanding the occasional aping by foreigners, it has remained victorious in its original form, and has been chosen in many countries.

The historical development of the horseshoe in general, from about the time of Emperor Maximilian until the seven years war, furnishes a true picture of the confused condition of things at that period of time, which, to make intelligible, would require a separate and complete treatise. Interesting as it is to the scientist to follow up this development and mode of present German horseshoeing, which, aside from the national toe and calk, is the English form and has become influential, and with full right, for a periodical of this kind further, more comprehensive, statement would under all circumstances take up too much room; therefore I must drop the pen, although reluctantly.

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SHEET GLASS FROM MOLTEN METAL.

The present practice in making metal sheets is to cast ingots or slabs and then reduce these by repeated rollings and reheating. Attempts have been previously made to produce sheets directly from molten metal by pouring the metal: (1) between two revolving rollers; or (2) between a revolving wheel and the surface of an inclosing fixed semicircular segment. By these means none but very thin plates could be satisfactorily produced. In this invention by C.M. Pielsticker, London, the machinery consists of a large receiving roller of 5 ft. diameter more or less, and of a length equal to that of the plate to be produced. With this are combined small forming rollers arranged in succession part way round the periphery of the large roller, and revolving at the same rate as the large roller. The rollers can be cooled by a current of water circulating through them. The molten metal flows on to the surface of the large roller and is prevented from escaping sideways by flanges with which the large roller is provided. These flanges embrace the small rollers and are of a depth greater than that of the thickest plate which it is proposed to roll. The distance between the large roller and the small rollers can be adjusted according to the desired thickness of the plate. When dealing with metals of high melting point, such as steel, the first small roller is made of refractory material and is heated from inside by the flame of a blow pipe. The rollers are coated with plumbago or other material to prevent adhesion to the molten metal. In the case of metals of high melting point the machine is fed direct from a furnace divided into two compartments by a wall or bridge in which is a stopper which can be operated so as to regulate the flow of metal. When applied to forming sheets of glass, the rollers should be warmed by a blow pipe flame as above described, and the sheet of glass stretched and annealed as it leaves the last roller.

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WELDLESS STEEL CHAINS.

At the Royal Naval Exhibition, London, Messrs. William Reid & Co. are exhibiting their weldless steel chains, which we now illustrate.

Of the many advantages claimed for steel chains, it may be prominently noted that a very important saving of weight is effected on account of their possessing such a high breaking strain, compared with the ordinary welded iron chains. To illustrate this, it may be stated that a given length of the weldless steel chain is 35 to 40 per cent. less in weight than an equivalent length of iron chain, will stand the same breaking strain as the latter, and indeed, where steel of special quality is used in making the weldless chains, this difference can be increased as much as 70 to 80 per cent. Whereas superior iron chains break at a strain at 17 tons per square inch, these weldless steel chains will stand a strain of 28 to 30 tons, with 20 to 26 per cent. elongation.

Again, there is greater security in their use from the fact that there are no welds, and they give warning of the limit of strain to which they can bear being approached, by elongation, which can be carried to a considerable extent before the chain breaks. Moreover, over, in chains made by this process, the links are all exactly alike. Though the life of a weldless steel chain is said to be twice that of an ordinary one, the price per length is little more than that of best iron chains.

They are made in lengths of from 40 to 50 feet, being compressed from a solid rolled steel bar, the section of which is shaped like a four-pointed star. In the first place holes are pierced at intervals down the length of the bar, thus determining the length of the several links. Then the bar is notched between the holes so as to give the external form of the links. The next step is "flattening out," which presses the links into shape on their inner side, but leaves the openings still closed by a plate of metal. They are then stamped out so as to round them up, and the metal inside them is punched out, and the edges "cleaned," or trimmed off. The links are now parted from one another and stamped again, to insure equal thickness in all parts of the chain. The only processes now to be gone through are dressing and finishing. According to the die used, the shape of the links can be varied to suit any required pattern. The lengths of chain thus made are joined by spiral rings made of soft steel, the convolutions being afterward hammered together till they become solid. A ring of this description, ¾ inch diameter, underwent a strain of 46,200 lb., that is, 23 tons to the square inch, its elongation being 21 per cent.

These chains have passed satisfactorily the tests of the Bureau Veritas, and both that association and Lloyd's have accepted their use on the same conditions and under the same tests as ordinary chains.

So much for the general idea of punching steel chains. We will now describe a recent invention by which superior steel chains are produced, the author of which is Mr. Hippolyte Rongier, of Birmingham, Eng. He says:

My invention has for its object the manufacture of weldless stayed chains, whereof each link, together with its cross strut or stay, is made of one piece of metal without any weld or joint; and the invention consists in producing a chain of stayed links from a bar of cruciform section by the consecutive series of punching, twisting and stamping operations hereinafter described, the punching operations being entirely performed on the metal when in the cold state.

Figs. 1 to 10 show the progressive stages in the manufacture of the chain, and the remaining figures show the series of tools that are employed.

The general method of operation of making stayed chains according to my invention is so far similar to the methods heretofore proposed for making unstayed chains from the bar of cruciform section that the links are formed alternately out of the one and the other pair of diametrically opposite webs of the rod, the links, when severed and completed, being already enchained together at the time of their formation. The successive operations differ, however, in many important practical respects from those heretofore proposed, as will appear from the following detailed description of the successive steps in the process illustrated by Figs. 1 to 10.

I will distinguish the one pair of diametrically opposite webs of the bar and the notches and mortises punched therein and the links formed therefrom from the other pair by an index figure 1 affixed to the reference letters appertaining thereto.

_a a_ are one pair of diametrically opposite webs, and _a' a'_ the other pair of webs of the bar.

The first operation illustrated in Fig. 1 is to punch out of the edge of one of the webs, _a_, a series of shallow notches, _b_, at equal intervals apart, corresponding to the pitch of the links to be formed out of that pair of webs and situated where the spaces will ultimately be formed between the ends of that series of links. The notches are made with beveled ends, and are no deeper than is absolutely necessary (for the purpose of a guide stop in the subsequent operations, as hereinafter described), so as to avoid, as far as possible, weakening the bar transversely. This operation is repeated upon one of the pairs of webs _a'_; but whereas in the first operation of notching the web the "pitch" of the notches is determined by the feed mechanism, in this second operation of notching the notches, _b_, cut in the web, _a_, serve as guides to influence and compensate for any inaccuracy of the feed mechanism, so that the second set of notches, _b'_, shall be intermediate of and rigorously equidistant from the first set of notches, _b_. This compensation is effected by the notches, _b_, fitting on to a beveled stop on the bed of the punching tool by which the notches, _b'_, are cut, the beveled ends of the notches, _b_, causing the bar under the pressure of the punch to adjust itself in the longitudinal direction (if necessary) sufficiently to rectify any inaccuracy of feed. These notches, _b b'_, similarly serve as guides to insure uniformity of spacing in the subsequent operations of punching out the links.

The second operation (illustrated in Fig. 2) is to punch out of the pair of opposite webs, _a a_, pairs of oblong mortises--two pairs, _c c_, and one pair, _d d_. These three pairs of mortises (which might be punched at separate operations, but are preferably punched at one stroke of the press) are situated as close as possible up to the faces of the other pairs of webs, _a' a'_, the pairs of mortises, _c c_, being so spaced as to correspond in position to the eyes of the links to be formed, to which they correspond approximately in form, while the pair, _d_, correspond in position to the notches, _b_, and therefore to the intervals by which the links formed out of the same pair of webs, _a a_, will be separated when completed. This operation is continued along the whole length of the pair of webs, _a_. It will be observed that a considerable thickness of metal is left at _a*_ between the notches, _b_, and the mortises, _d_. This is of primary importance and is one of the essential features of my method of manufacture, inasmuch as by first punching out the mortises, _d_, the subsequent removal of the metal from between the outer ends of the links is greatly facilitated, while by leaving the solid metal, _a*_, the transverse strength of the webs, _a a_, is not materially diminished, so that when the operation of punching the mortises, _c_ and _d_, in the other pair of webs, _a'_, is performed the bar will not be bent and crippled, as would inevitably be the case were the whole of the metal opposite the notches, _b_, which is ultimately to be removed, to be punched out at so early a stage of the manufacture. The operation of punching the pairs of mortises, _c'_ and _d_, having been repeated along the other pair of webs, _a'_, it will be observed that like the notches, _b_, the mortises, _c d_, in the one pair of webs alternate with those, _c' d'_, in the other pair of webs.

The third operation (illustrated in Fig. 3) is to elongate the mortises, _c d_, and bring the mortises, _c c'_, more nearly to the final form. This is performed by punches similar to but larger (in the direction of the length of the rod) than those used in the second operation.

The third operation, which is repeated upon both pairs of webs, _a a a' a'_, may be considered as a second stage of the second operation, it being preferable to punch out the mortises in two stages in order to remove sufficient metal without unduly straining the bar.

The fourth operation (illustrated in Fig. 4) consists in roughly shaping the ends of the links externally by punching out the portions, _a*_, of the webs, _a_, between the links lying in the same plane or formed out of the same pair of webs. This operation is repeated on the other pair of webs, _a'_. Up to this point a continuous core of metal has been left at the intersection of the two pairs of webs.