Artificial aid after partial amputation of the foot is seldom satisfactory for the reason that the normal elasticity on which ease of locomotion depends is practically eliminated by destruction of the arch and a proportionate crippling results. Taking, for example, one of the more common operations, Lisfranc's or its modifications, we have, as a rule, the ankle joint intact and are able to leave a substantial support for the body weight, but in walking the spring of the foot is lost, the stride is shortened and progression interfered with to a considerable extent.
One of my patients (Fig. 1) was in this condition until he began to use a device (partly his own suggestion) which has been of great assistance. By its aid he often walks a distance of from 6 to 7 miles without fatigue or discomfort; he has resumed his work as a miner and can readily ascend