Page:Why the Shoe Pinches.djvu/29

 It is clear that all these evils must become much greater if, in addition to its otherwise unsuitable shape, the shoe is made too short, since in this case the point of the great toe receives an additional backward pressure, which forces it still more against the smaller toes, and displaces its root still further inwards.

Such very marked distortions as are represented in the figures above are certainly not very frequent, yet they occur much oftener than we should expect. That even apparently healthy feet are not quite free from traces of these deformities is exemplified by Fig. 14, which at the first glance seems to be perfectly sound; on trying to draw on it the line seen in Figs. 3 and 4, we shall discover, however, that even here the great toe is directed obliquely outwards.

The first consequence of the existence of such an un-natural relation between the sole of the shoe and the sole of the foot, is that the foot, especially while on the ground in walking and standing, exerts a counter-pressure on its covering. The upper leather is thus to a certain extent compelled to take the natural form of the foot.

With dry and hard upper leathers this modelling process is slow and gradual, but with flexible materials the change takes place rapidly. Aware of this, we never put