PATENT AND ENAMELLED LEATHER. 363 



matter, especially when the leather is dry, it is advisable 

 to damp the leather ; because, when it is in that state, it will 

 absorb the oil or grease much more readily than when it is 

 dry. 



The brown leather which lines harness collars, covers 

 the panels of saddles and pads, and serves as saddle cloths, 

 should be sponged over after use, and a little greasy material 

 well rubbed into it to keep it soft. For this purpose, 

 suitable oil or fat (see preceding paragraph) will answer better 

 than any kind of soap ; because this leather requires no polish, 

 although no excess of grease should be left on its surface. 



BLACK LEATHER. 



As soon as possible after work, black leather should be 

 seen to, and all dirt removed by means of a damp sponge. 

 After the leather has become dry, we may apply a thin 

 coating of black harness composition with a hard brush, 

 polish with a soft brush, and finish off with a soft dry rubber. 

 Harness composition, of which there are a great number 

 of varieties in the market, resembles boot blacking, except 

 that it is of a greasy nature and more or less waterproof. 

 For its application, a double brush one end soft, the other 

 hard is often employed, although two separate brushes will 

 be more convenient to use. When a polish is not required, 

 as in rough work, " black oil," which can be obtained from 

 any saddler, is often substituted for harness composition. 



PATENT LEATHER AND ENAMELLED LEATHER. 

 Patent leather of blinkers, pad, collar, dash-board (guard 

 in front of the driver's legs), splash-boards (guards over the 

 wheels), etc., may, when needing attention, be sponged over, 

 dried with a wash leather, and have a flannel rag moistened 

 with paraffin oil rubbed over its surface, which should 

 be finally polished up with a dry rubber, so as to remove 



