order to insulate the extremities of the conductors and permit the
recomposition of the current to take place through the animal's tongue
or palate.

Each of the bare ends of the conductors was provided, under a circular
brass ligature, with a small damp sponge, which, surrounding the
mouth-piece, secured a perfect contact of each end of the circuit with
the horse's mouth.

[Illustration: FIG. 3.--ARRANGEMENT OF THE BIT]

The horse having been led in, defended himself vigorously as long as
an endeavor was made to remove his shoes by the ordinary method, but
the current had acted scarcely fifteen seconds when it became possible
to lift his feet and strike his shoes with the hammer.

The experimenter having taken care during this experiment to place the
bobbin quite near the horse's ear, so that he could hear the humming
of the interrupter, undertook a second experiment in the following
way: Having detached the conductors from the armature, he placed
himself in front of the horse (as shown in Fig. 2), and began to
imitate the humming sound of the interrupter with his mouth. The
animal at once assumed the stupefied position that the action of the
current gave him in the first experiment, and allowed his feet to be
lifted and shod without his even being held by the snaffle.

The horse was for ever after subdued, and yet his viciousness and his
repugnance to shoeing were such that he could only be shod previously
by confining his legs with a kicking-strap.