Tht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
71 
All Sorts 
How to Harness a Horse 
Toll me how to hitch up a horse, both 
single and double. Name eauh piece of 
harness used as it is put on, and tell 
where it goes on the horse. C. B. w. 
Ohio. 
Hitching up a horse may seem perfectly 
simple to the man who instinctively feels 
that he must have known how long before 
the vitamincs in milk had done their per¬ 
fect work in him, and who is sure that 
the proper location of saddle and trace 
came along with the knowledge that hiss¬ 
ing ganders will take unfair advantage of 
short skirts and bare knees. But such 
things really have to be learned, and your 
back-to-the-lander sometimes learns them 
late in life. Sore experience taught many 
of us who were farm-reared just where 
the back pad crosses a horse, east and 
west, for our early boyhood fell in the 
days when the man behind the cultivator 
thought he must have a small boy to ride 
and guide his equine tractor. “Sore ex¬ 
perience.” indeed, for those horses were of 
heroic stamp, with backbones that noth¬ 
ing could daunt, or dent. 
Personally. I think that I acquired the 
art of harnessing very slowly, for 1 re¬ 
member a visit to a good, old-fashioned 
aunt who showed a gratifying, if some¬ 
what premature, confidence in my budding 
manhood by asking me to put the family 
house into the thills for her. I led the 
horse from his stall easily, for the heat 
and burden of the day had long since 
wafted the memory of his fiery Arabian 
ancestry to the realm of dreams, but 
wicked elves had danced upon that barn 
floor in the night and touched the hai- 
ness with their mischievous hands. The 
longer I struggled with its kinks and 
snarls the more hopelessly tangled it be¬ 
came, until finally no horse could have 
corkscrewed himself into it. It wasn’t’ 
like Our harnesses at home. aS I rather 
shamefacedly explained to my uncle, who 
had just then stepped into the barn, and 
he agreed with me. At least, he remarked 
that probably our harnesses were just 
straight straps. As I remember him now. 
my uncle was a man of few words and 
much sarcasm. 
Harnessing a horse isn't so hard, 
however, after you have learned how; 
much like guiding a flying machine in this 
respect, they tell me. Assuming that my 
questioner is quite unacquainted with 
horses and their trappings, I shall try to 
draw a word picture that will reduce his 
harness to one straight strap, and make 
the horse seem to adjust himself to that. 
I think that 1 can do it—drawing word 
pictures is such an easy thing to do. 
Let us stand upon the animal’s left— 
custom decrees that—and commence at 
his head. Always commence by getting 
control of the horse’s head, and then keep 
it; you cannot control his feet. The bri¬ 
dle, or headstall, is a tangly bit of har¬ 
ness and the most difficult part for the 
beginner to put in place. Let the bridle 
hang from the left hand, holding it by the 
broad strap that crosses the top of the 
head. The reins will usually be looped 
and tied in the bit rings, the throat latch 
will hang by one-'end and the check rein 
will lose itself in an apparently inex¬ 
tricable tangle of straps and buckles. Sep¬ 
arate this check rein and slip it over the 
horse’s head, doing tins with the right 
hand. Now grasp the upper part of the 
bridle with the right hand, displacing the 
left, and with the freed hand take hold 
of the bits, straightening out any tangle 
that they may have gotten into. Span the 
hit with the fingers of the left hand, and 
from beneath, and. while the right hand 
draws the bridle up over the horse’s face, 
slip the bit between his lips and teeth. 
If the horse does not readily open his 
mouth to take the bit. let the left thumb 
slip between his lips at one side and make 
pressure upon his gums, still holding the 
bit with the fingers. If at all well 
broken he will open his mouth at this 
signal and the right hand, assisted by the 
left, will complete the upward movement 
of the bridle over the horse’s face and 
ears, while the bit slips into place. The 
throat-latcli is then to be buckled and the 
foretop to be freed from any tangle of 
straps that it may have gotten into. 
The traces, or tugs, are permanently at¬ 
tached to the breast collar, and a neck 
strap over the horse’s neck holds them up 
in place. Slip the loop of this neck strap 
over the animal’s head, preferably before 
putting on the bridle. 
The rest of the harness is all connected, 
and it is certainly a Chinese puzzle to the 
uninitiated. It is really simple, however, 
consisting of a back pad, or saddle, into 
which terrets for the reins are screwed 
and from which the outer and inner 
belly-bands swing; a back strap, ending 
in the crupper and through which a nar¬ 
row strap is passed to support the breech¬ 
ing, and the breeching itself. The breech 
ing strap is wide and heavy and bears 
rings at its ends. The thill straps are 
either permanently fastened into these 
rings or are buckled to them as the last 
step in harnessing. 
To adjust all these, stand upon the 
horse’s left and throw the back pad over 
his body; the two .belly-bands will now 
hang loosely upon the side opposite you. 
Straighten out the back strap and let the 
breeching fall into place. Before fasten¬ 
ing any buckles, double up the horse’s tail 
and slip in through the crupper. Draw 
the crupper snugly up into place and you 
are ready to buckle the inner belly-band 
and slip the loop of the check rein into its 
hook. 
Your horse is now ready for the thills. 
Draw these to him, rather than attempt 
to back him into them; slip them through 
the box loops in the outer belly-band and 
fasten the traces to the whiffletree. If 
the horse now steps forward the thills 
cannot drop to the floor. Buckle the out¬ 
er belly-band, and then, while the traces 
are taut, drop the thill straps about the 
thills, or pass them through the breeching 
rings, if already attached to the thills, 
and draw them tight enough so that the 
breeching fits snugly, but not too tightly, 
against the horse. The reins are now 
passed beneath the neck strap, or over it, 
and through the terrets in the back pad 
and your job is done. 
To describe the double harness also 
would overstep the limits of our space. 
Its variations are chiefly in the attach¬ 
ment of the reins and the addition of the 
neck-yoke. A padded collar, with hames 
for the attachment of the tugs, is also 
usually used. The adjustment of a double 
harness is easily learned from observation 
after the single harness is undei*stood. A 
sketch of the latter, in place, is given to 
make the above description more clear. 
M. B. D. 
Fight the New Jersey Game Laws 
I wish to reach the farmers of this sec¬ 
tion of New Jersey through The R. N.-Y. 
to co-operate in a fight on the extermina¬ 
tion of the game. The destruction this 
year from deer and small game is terrific. 
This is a fruit, grain and truck section 
and situated only SV> miles from Trenton. 
The Fish and Game Commissioners pay 
absolutely no attention to letters telling 
of said destruction. They are a set of 
men who evidently only care for their own 
selfish pleasures. It is absolutely neces¬ 
sary for the farmers to make a fight in the 
Legislature for protection from this game 
and compensation for damage done. Grain 
has been trampled, truck eaten, and no 
redress from the Game Commission. How¬ 
ever, they are most particular to have 
dogs shot and the owners fined $20 if the 
dogs are at large in the closed season. It 
is the duty of every farmer to hunt this 
year and get rid of some of these pests 
and make a fight for the deer to be driven 
out of this section of the country. 
I have a small poultry farm and my 
entire truck patch has been destroyed by 
deer and rabbits. I wrote to the Secre¬ 
tary of Agriculture at,Washington, and 
I was directed to write to Ernest Napier 
of East Orange, president of the New 
Jersey Game Commission. I did so, and 
I’m still waiting for a reply. A game 
warden called and presented me with a 
book of New Jersey game laws; that is 
all the compensation I’ve had for the loss 
of my Summer’s and Winter’s food, to say 
nothing of the labor and expense of plant¬ 
ing my truck patch. I contend game 
comes under the head of luxuries, and in 
these times vegetables and grain are great 
necessities, and this matter should be 
brought before men who would pay some 
attention to the farmers. Ernest Napier, 
East Orange, is president of the Game 
Commission, and following are the rest of 
the contingent: William A. Logue, Bridge- 
ton ; W. A. Faunee, Atlantic City; B. M. 
Shanley, Newark; II. Chaffey, Point 
Pleasant; Amos Raddiffe, Paterson; Rob¬ 
ertson S. Ward, East Orange; Walter 
Fell, Trenton. mrs. julia baird. 
Mercer Co., N. J. 
R. N.-Y.—There are thousands of New 
Jersey people who will gladly join with 
Mrs. Baird in a campaign to get rid of 
the game nuisance. Our game laws are 
framed largely to add to the pleasure of 
“sports” and hunters, and to add to the 
trouble and burden of farmers. It is time 
to get together, organize and go gunning 
in the New Jersey Legislature. 
Methods of Tanning 
How strong a solution should the lime 
water bath be for tanning hides? About 
how long do the hides have to stay in 
lime water before the hair will peel off? 
How strong a solution should the sul¬ 
phuric acid bath need to be for the hides? 
Could you give information as to the 
methods that are used on a commercial 
scale to make sole leather, and to make 
soft leather, something like the uppers of 
working shoes? W. W. 
Trenton, N. J. 
I never heard of a tanner using abso¬ 
lute and invariable weights or measures 
in preparing his tanning mixtures, and I 
never heard of two tanners always, and 
upon every occasion, usiug identically the 
same processes, so there is considerable 
difficulty in giving a definite answer to all 
of these questions. But if one uses half 
a bushel of lime to a barrel of 32 gallons 
of water he will make no mistake. Bring¬ 
ing this down to a basis for small skins, 
say one quart of lime to two gallons of 
water. Allow the hides to remain in this 
until the hair will slip, or until it may 
easily be pulled out with the fingers, but 
taking care that the lime water reaches 
all parts. That is. see that there are no 
wrinkles in the hide while it is soaking, 
which may prevent some parts from being 
acted upon. It may require two days to 
loosen the hair. and it may require two 
months, according to the kind of skin, 
the season, thickness of the hide, thick¬ 
ness of the hair and temperature of the 
water. Best results will follow if the 
water is about the right temperature for 
bathing. Tf much colder a longer time 
will be required, and if much hotter the 
hide may be partially cooked and leather 
of inferior wearing qualities will result. 
Use an ounce of sulphuric acid to a 
barrel of water for small, thin skins. 
This will be in the proportion of half 
au ounce of the acid to a gallon of water 
if in small quantities. For heavy hides 
double the quantity of acid, and for an 
extra heavy bull’s hide, use three times 
as much. For light skins, two or three 
days’ immersion will probably be suf¬ 
ficient, but heavier skins will require a 
longer time. It is not a question of time, 
or quantity, or strength of ingredients, 
for they will need to vary to conform to 
a great many varying conditions. It is a 
question of practical experience, and the 
operator must learn for himself. Books 
cannot teach perfection or take the place 
of experience. Any man may broil a 
beefsteak in such a manner that it will 
satisfy hunger, and in a measure please 
the palate. But only an experienced cook 
can broil it to perfection, and a similar 
rule applies to tanning leather. Any man 
may tan a hide and produce a tolerable 
quality of leather, but only an experi¬ 
enced tanner can produce a first-class 
quality. 
Sole leather is always tanned by what 
is known as the bark process. No other 
method will render the leather as nearly 
waterproof. First, the hair is removed 
by the lime or some other process, then a 
quantity of bark is ground or pounded 
into small bits. This is leached, and the 
hides are soaked in the resulting liquor 
for from six months to a year or more. 
First they are soaked in a very weak 
liquor, then removed into a vat containing 
a stronger decoction, and a little later 
into one that is still stronger, the liquor 
being changed from four to six times. If 
the stronger liquor were used in the be¬ 
ginning, a leather would result in a 
month’s time, and at a vastly less cost, 
but the hide would be tanned only in a 
thin layer upon each side, and as soon as 
that is worn away the remainder will 
have but little better wearing qualities 
than paper. This is one fault of the sole 
leather of the present time. 
Soft leather, used in making the upper 
parts of working shoes, is sometimes 
tanned by the same process, and some¬ 
times by the chrome, or mineral process, 
which requires too expensive an equip¬ 
ment for home use. It produces a leather 
at much less cost, and of equal quality 
and superior appearance, but it is lacking 
in the waterproofing qualities. Thinner 
hides are selected for upper leather, and 
even these are either split into halves or 
they are shaved down to the required 
thickness. Either hemlock or oak bark 
is used. Leather may be tanned by the 
use of bark of trees of any kind, but only 
these trees have bark that is sufficiently 
rich in the tanning principle and of suf¬ 
ficient purity and are closely associated 
in sufficient numbers to make the opera¬ 
tion profitable. Kid. from which fine 
gloves are made, is the skin of sheep or 
goats, tanned by long immersion in a de¬ 
coction of sumac leaves, and lately it has 
been found that the skin of the common 
rat. when tanned by the same process, 
yields a leather that in indistinguishable 
from kid. c. o. ormsbee. 
Fruit Tree Damage by Rabbits* 
Rabbits are very numerous this year, 
and we shall try to reduce their numbers. 
They have already done a great many 
dollars’ worth of damage to our nurseries, 
and it looks like almost a hopeless task 
to try to reduce them much under the 
present laws. We may have to make a 
drive to get the Conservation Commission 
to permit us to use ferrets. This will be 
bitterly opposed by the city hunters, who 
are afraid their free hunting is threatened 
in this as in other ways. Thev do not 
understand that this same “free hunt¬ 
ing” idea is largely the cause of the pres¬ 
ent scarcity of game, and that there can 
be little improvement in the situation un¬ 
til the landowners are allowed to control 
the game on their land, frett grower. 
REPLY BY THE CONSERVATION COMMISSION 
The Commission has issued no permits 
this year allowing the taking of i-abbits 
with ferrets. Owing to the fact that that 
species of game is very scarce, the sport of 
hunting rabbits is enjoyed by many and 
should be conserved, the Commission, as 
stated above, has refrained from issuing 
an order allowing the use of ferrets. 
As to the contention that the rabbits 
are very destructive to nurseries. Section 
106 of the Conservation Law prohibits 
the use of ferrets, except by an order of 
the Commission, but does allow the owner 
or occupant of lands to take rabbits at 
any time and in any manner, except by 
the use of ferrets, where they are doing 
damage to property. Rabbits that are 
doing damage can be exterminated com¬ 
pletely in any one locality by steeping 
Alfalfa or clover hay in a weak solution 
of arsenic and placing this in their bur¬ 
rows. or corn or twigs that have been 
prepared in the same way. 
LEWELLYN I.EGGE. 
Geese Lamed by Turtle 
On page 1523 Mrs. F. S. tells of losing 
goslings by their first getting lame, one 
at a time. Time was in Connecticut when 
in country towns a great, many geese were 
kept, and they were usually allowed to 
run in the highway. My mother was one 
who always had a flock. She fouud that 
when they wandered to a certain brook a 
quarter of a mile or so away, they were 
likely to come back with one lame one, 
just as F. S. describes, bitteu iu the leg, 
as we supposed, by a turtle, and so poi¬ 
soned that it never got well, but grew 
worse and in a week or so died. Thia 
may fit the case of F. S. 
Connecticut. norman s. platt. 
