ball and above the shank. The more the wood is taken off here, the more the foot will be thrown toward the outside of the shoe, or made to tread outside, and this will somewhat counterbalance the tendency which the toe has, when the end of it is made stationary, to push the joint and whole foot toward the inside. The crookedness will appear extreme, and perhaps ridiculous, but it will be found in practice that it takes a _very_ crooked shoe to make a big toe straight. We believe, however, that this tendency of the toe and joint to keep their old position by treading over inside can be counteracted by putting a low counter or stiffening of sole-leather into the upper of the shoe at the ball, in the same way a similar one is inserted at the heel. Or, if the joint is too sensitive to be touched by stiff leather, let the stiffening piece be placed just back of the ball, in the shank. The top part of it must be thinned, while the bottom part remains thick and firm. It has not been fairly tried, but if the joint is not sore it can hardly fail to be effective. It should be a _false_ insole to which the partition or separator is fastened, so that it can be easily changed, because there is some difficulty in fitting it exactly right the first time, and, besides, the wearer may wish, even when it suits as well as possible, to remove it and give the toe a resting-spell in its old position; while if the partition is secured to the proper insole of the boot, it must remain there, whether right or wrong, and in the latter case the boot will be worthless. A strip of _thick tin_, half or three-fourths of an inch wide, and two and a half inches long, is all that is required for the material. If preferred, it may be of thin sheet iron or sheet brass. Any tinsmith will furnish it, bent and doubled into the form represented in the diagram. [Illustration: FIG. 22.—SEPARATOR.]