a part of the body of most animals wherein the stand, walk, &c. See Anatomy, n° 63.

**Foot**, in the Latin and Greek poetry, a metre or measure, composed of a certain number of long and short syllables.

These feet are commonly reckoned 28: of which some are simple, as consisting of two or three syllables, and therefore called *dissyllabic* or *trisyllabic feet*; others are compound, consisting of four syllables, and are therefore called *tetrasyllabic feet*.

The dissyllabic feet are four in number, viz. the pyrrhichius, spondeus, iambus, and trocheus. See Pyrrhichius, &c.

The trisyllabic feet are eight in number, viz. the dactylus, anapæstus, tribrachys, molossus, amphibrachys, amphimacer, bacchius, and antibacchius. See Dactyl, &c.

The tetrasyllabic are in number 16, viz. the proceleusmaticus, dispondeus, choriambus, antispastus, diambus, dichoreus, ionicus a majore, ionicus a minore, epitritus primus, epitritus secundus, epitritus tertius, epitritus quartus, peon primus, peon secundus, peon tertius, and peon quartus. See Proceleusmaticus, &c.

Foot is also a long measure consisting of 12 inches. Geometricians divide the foot into 10 digits, and the digit into 10 lines.

**Foot-Halt**, the name of a particular disorder incident to sheep. It takes its source from an insect, which, when it comes to a certain maturity, resembles a worm of two, three, or four inches in length. The first appearance of the malady is, when the sheep gives signs of being lame, which increases so high a degree as to prevent grazing; when, what with want of sufficient food and pain, the poor animal suffers greatly, and lingers till it dies a natural death, if not properly attended to, by extracting the insect or worm; the sooner the better, as it is very easily performed.

As soon as the lameness is perceived, let the foot that is lame be examined between the close of the claws, and it will be found that in the skin where the close separates is a small hole (not natural), through which the insect, when yet small, gets its entrance, and by degrees has worked itself upwards along the leg, between the outward skin and bone, and obtains its largest magnitude. Proportionally it finds its nourishment, and is left undisturbed. This worm must be extracted by moving the claws backward and forward in contrary directions; and it will not be long before the under part of the worm makes its appearance at the above mentioned small hole; and continuing the same operation of moving the claws, the whole worm will work itself out; which is better than when at its first appearance it should be drawn out with danger of breaking off, and part of it should remain in the sheep's leg, and by its rotting there may be hurtful. This easy and simple operation will be found effectual without any other kind of application whatever, nature herself curing the channel which the worm had made along the leg.

It is observed, this malady is in some years more prevalent than in others, particularly in wet seasons than in drier; more observed to begin in spring and autumn than in summer and winter; notwithstanding, what with snow, &c. sheep suffer more by the wet in winter than in any of the other seasons (possibly it is not then the season for this sort of insect). In high healthy grounds, the sheep are less liable to it than in low marshy and meadow grounds; from all which circumstances it may be supposed, that this insect, in its first state, has for its most natural element either the earth, water, or air; and only gets accidentally between the close of the claws of the sheep, and finds there what is sufficient for its nourishment and security.

**Foot Square**, is the same measure both in breadth and length, containing 144 square or superficial inches.

**Cubic or Solid Foot**, is the same measure in all the three dimensions, length, breadth, and depth or thickness, containing 1728 cubic inches.

**Foot of a Horse**, in the manege, the extremity of the leg, from the coronet to the lower part of the hoof.

**Foot-Level**, among artificers, an instrument that serves as a foot-rule, a square, and a level. See Level, Rule, and Square.