The Harness Makers' Guide, 



,n 2d Der lb. less than the equivalent weight m backs, it may be 

 found more economical to buy in this form. 



Where to buv is a matter of the first importance, as a harness 

 Mv^ker's reputation for supplying a reliable article may easily be 

 ruined, or^t least seriously prejudiced, by using mferior and 

 adulterated leather. , . • i -j .. 



If he is in a small way of business and requires single sides a 

 ^ time, he cannot do better than go to a well-reputed firm of 

 s.ddlers' ironmongers and obtain his leather at the same house as 

 h's metal work and sundries, for they will doubtless give his orders 

 .rreater personal attention. If, however, he is m a position to buy 

 hilf-a-dozen pairs at a time (generally known as a bale) he will 

 be well advised to open an account with some firm of harness 

 curriers whose reputation for first-class and reliable quality has 

 stood the test of Vears. In buying direct you may not only save 

 the middleman's profit, but vou have the satisfaction of coming 

 into personal contact with the producer, who can not only offer 

 practical advice in the event of complaint, but he is likely to be 

 more amenable to persuasion and compromise should actual loss 

 result. 



It is of the utmost importance to buy well, and the harness 

 maker, having found his market, must next concern himself with 

 the quality of the leather he buys. 



We all know the difference that a certain year's crop will make 

 to the value of a vintage, but that difference is as nothing to the 

 differences between the relative value of one tannage and another. 

 It takes a very shrewd judge of leather to assess the quality of 

 tannages, and faith in the ability of your currier's judgment is 

 inevitable. Leather can now be tanned in as many days as it once 

 took months, and it is a regrettable fact that many fine old 

 tanneries that took from twelve to fifteen months to produce leather 

 in the mildest of cold oak bark liquors, have of late years been 

 either closed or been forced to radically alter their methods, in 

 consequence of the inability of the harness maker to appreciate 

 the quality of their old-time leather. 



There still remains a wide difference between the astringent 

 foreign extract tannages so largely used and a genuine English 

 oak bark tannage worked on scientific principles. The finished 

 article may appear similar, but the latter will stand the test of 

 time, which the former will not. One will bring credit to the 

 harness maker — who, having convinced himself that he is getting 

 what he pays for, is willing to give a shilling or two more for his 

 back — the other, through ignorance or parsimony, courts complaints 

 and loss of accounts. 



The dressing or currying of leather is a subject upon which every 

 harness maker considers he is entitled to speak, and as regards 

 the finished article he does so with considerable justification^ for 

 he handles the leather previous to its manufacture into harness, 

 and his contract work gives him the opportunity of watching its 

 wearing qualities. The harness maker, almost to a man, will 

 ask for a "well filled" leather, and will often remark, "I don't 

 like the dubbin spared." 



