244 CARE OF HARNESS CH. XI 



until they become bright. For this purpose, a can- 

 vas bag about thirty inches long, with a strong 

 handle at each end, is convenient. The curb-chains 

 are usually polished by rolling between the hands. 



The bits should be taken out of the lime-water 

 after the harness is cleaned ; wiped, polished, and 

 put in the bit-case. If they have rusty spots, it 

 may be necessary to rub them with very fine emery 

 paper, but if this is done they must be afterward 

 burnished. 



Steel articles when received from the maker, have 

 a high polish, which makes them more capable of 

 resisting the action of dampness in producing rust. 



The ordinary stable method of cleaning, with 

 sand or emery cloth, will not produce this polish, but 

 leaves a surface full of minute scratches, and very 

 liable to rust. The only way of regaining a surface 

 at all resembling the original one, is by burnishing, 

 which consists in rubbing with a smooth and very 

 hard, steel instrument. This consolidates the surface 

 somewhat, or, at least, rubs down the edges of the 

 scratches, obliterating the lines made by the emery. 



Usually a sufficiently satisfactory 

 result can be obtained by rubbing 

 with a hard, steel chain, fastened to 

 a pad, so as to be held in the hand 

 (Fig. 121). For large, fixed pieces 



r TO 12 1 



of steel, like the pole-head, a long 

 steel chain can be pulled backward and forward 

 across it. In any case, considerable force and 



