It seems to us that the way to remedy this trouble in boots is precisely the same as the means taken to _prevent_ it in _shoes_: that is, to make _more spring in the last forward of the instep; in other words, a greater curve on the bottom_. The amount of this _spring_ or curve need not be so great as in the shoe last, for the reason just stated, that the boot is confined at the instep, while the shoe is not, to the same extent. A good shoemaker would not like to make an _Oxford shoe_ upon a boot last, although it is laced well up toward the ankle. Why should he be willing to make a boot on it, when the boot is confined at the instep no more than the shoe? There is the same danger of slipping in both cases, and why should it not be guarded against in the same way? Every one who has made or sold shoes knows that a slipper, or low shoe of any kind, will fit on the foot much better if made on a shoe last; that it is less liable to be loose at the sides, and to show big wrinkles across the ball; that, in short, it _must_ be made on such a last. The same reasoning and the same rule applies almost as well to the boot or gaiter. If there is any exception, it is the side-spring boot, with its elastic sides to draw the surface smooth, and even this is not an exception when the material is leather, though it may be when cloth of any kind is used. In fact, there is no kind of foot clothing manufactured but would have a better fit upon the foot, both in front and at the heel, sides, and ankle, if a last more closely resembling the common shoe or slipper last was used in the making. There may not be, and we are confident there _is_ not, a necessity for having it so _flat in the shank_ as the common slipper last, nor so _wide_ through the same region, but the upward curve of the forward part should be nearly or quite as great. The curve of the shank might be very nearly the same as that of the hollow of the foot, while at the toes it may curve, we will say, one-half as much as the whole bend of the toes in walking. This form makes it a shoe last at the fore part, while the shank is but little different from the ordinary _boot_ last. The part between the heel and instep need not be so wide at the bottom, nor, perhaps, so narrow at the top, as the best shaped lasts for shoes. It is believed possible, however, to make the shank sufficiently wide, at a slight distance _above_ the bottom, to accommodate the foot easily, while it may be suddenly narrowed _below_ sufficiently to allow a narrow-shanked sole to be made upon it, if desired, without difficulty. If so, this would be the blending of _taste_ with _comfort_ in the fit. The outside edge would be a little _lower_ than the other, as it is in the foot. Perhaps the whole may be well described as half-way between the extremes of the two different styles. There would be no difference between those designed for men and those for women, except in width and bulk—none in the general form.