The wood of the skate should be slightly hollowed, so as to adapt it to the ball of the foot; and, as the heel of the boot must be thick enough to admit the peg, it may be well to lower the wood of the skate corresponding to the heel, so as to permit the foot to regain that degree of horizontal position which it would otherwise lose by the height of the heel; for the more of the foot that is in contact with the skate, the more firmly will these be attached. As the tread of the skate should correspond, as nearly as possible, with that of the foot, the wood should be of the same length as the boot or shoe; the irons of good steel, and well secured in the wood. These should pass beyond the screw at the heel, nearly as far as the wood itself; but the bow of the iron should not project much beyond the tread. If the skate project much beyond the wood, the whole foot, and more especially its hind part, must be raised considerably from the ice when the front or bow of the skate is brought to bear upon it; and, as the skater depends upon this part for the power of his stroke, it is evident that that must be greatly diminished by the general distance of the foot from the ice. In short, if the skate be too long, the stroke will be feeble, and the back of the leg painfully cramped: if it be too short, the footing will be proportionally unsteady and tottering. As the position of the person in the act of skating is never vertical, and is sometimes very much inclined, and as considerable exertion of the muscles of the leg is requisite to keep the ankle stiff, this ought to be relieved by the lowness of the skates. Seeing, then, that the closer the foot is to the ice, the less is the strain on the ankle, it is clear that the foot ought to be brought as near to the ice as possible, without danger of bringing the sole of the shoe in contact with it, while traversing on the edge of the skate. The best height is about three-quarters of an inch, and the iron about a quarter of an inch thick. The grooved or fluted skate, if ever useful, is of service only to boys, or very light persons, whose weight is not sufficient to catch the ice in a hard frost. It certainly should never be used by a person who is heavier than a boy of thirteen or fourteen years of age usually is, because the sharp edge too easily cuts into the ice, and prevents figuring. Fluted skates, indeed, are even dangerous: for the snow or ice cuttings are apt to collect and consolidate in the grooves, till the skater is raised from the edge of his skate, and thrown.