450 HIGHWAYS AND HORSES. 



brilliant that even rain cannot dim its lustre. The 

 best waterproof blackings are made of beeswax mixed 

 with other things and made into a paste ; this blacking 

 is waterproof, but if turpentine or naphtha be employed 

 it is not good for leather. The prepared blackings of 

 Harris or Harding are the best that can be procured. 



A writer upon harness remarks that the best 

 blacked and polished harness he ever saw was in the 

 harness-room of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, where 

 he learnt that nothing but Everett's Liquid Blacking, 

 the same as employed for boots and shoes, was ever 

 used ; but then the head coachman was a person to be 

 relied on, since he took care that his subordinates 

 should work properly. 



Patent leather must be oiled occasionally, or it will 

 crack. 



I do not propose to speak of clothing or stable 

 requisites, but have merely mentioned harness, since I 

 am speaking of all those things that appear on the road, 

 and not those which may be observed within the walls 

 of a stable. When harness is ordered it ought, if 

 possible, be made specially to fit the horses for which 

 it is intended ; each horse should certainly be measured 

 for his collar, his pad or saddle, his bridle, and his 

 blinkers. Some people who are very particular have 

 had bits made specially to fit certain horses ; in fact, 

 a gentleman named Von Weyrother, formerly chief of 

 the School of Equitation at Vienna, invented a special 

 instrument for ascertaining all the necessary dimensions 

 of a horse's mouth, I think that this instrument can be 

 obtained of Messrs. White & Coleman, of Bishopsgate 

 Street, London. 



The late Mr. Edward Flower, of Hvde Park 

 Gardens, directed his attention to the unsuitable bits 



