•CLEANING THE ilAKXESS. 419 



few hours after, or perhaps the next day, I wipe the harness 

 over with a woollen cloth, which gives it a glossy appear- 

 ance. AVhy I use some castor oil for the last coat is, be- 

 cause it will stand the effects of the atmosphere and the 

 rain much longer than neat's-foot oil, — consequently the 

 harness does not require oiling so often. One pint of oil 

 is sufficient for one harness. 



The common way of oiling a harness is, to apply as 

 much neat's-foot oil containing lamp-black as the leather 

 will take up ; then washing off with castile soap and water. 

 This way is not so good as mine, because it makes the 

 harness smutty, and also the soap that is used contains 

 barilla, — a strong alkali, — which cuts up and feeds upon the 

 oil in the leather, and the weather, especially if rainy, soon, 

 renders the harness stiff and unyielding as before ; the wax 

 in the threads is also destroyed, and the stitching gives 

 way. I have experimented with different kinds of oil, 

 and find that the kind, and the process I now use, is the 

 best. 



A French work, "Ze Bourellier et le Sellier^''^ gives the fol- 

 lowing recipe for restoring old and stiff leather : 



Melt over the fire, in a metallic vessel, eight pounds 

 of very pure beeswax, stirring it until it is all melted ; 

 then introduce one pound of litharge, which has been pul- 

 verized in water, dried, and passed through a fine sieve. 

 Leave it on the fire, and stir it until all of the soluble part 

 of the litharge is incorporated with the wax ; remove the 

 vessel from the fire, and when the mixture shall have lost 

 a portion of its heat, incorporate with it, little by little, one 

 pound and a half of very fine ivory black, of the best 

 quality ; replace it on the fire, and stir it incessantly until 

 the wax commences to boil again ; then remove it and 

 allow it to get nearly cool. Then add to it spirits of tur- 

 pentine, until it is of the consistency of a paste. More tur- 



