Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1874-07-02

ultl Wis llcilu tllO huIAl OllTOllulslu
says: We advocate progressive farming.
Improvement is the order Of the day in
all trades and professions, and the ag-
riculturist must keep abreast with the
forward movement or he will fall hope
lrssly under foot. But with progress
should always come prudence. Hasten
slowl y-study carefully the path before
You, lest you make false steps or go
astray. All old ways are not bad, nor
are all new ways good. Look with
good deal of cautious scrutiny ut any
system Of cultivation i'll which the ex-
r'rlcnce Of centuries passes Tor nothing.
If Il thcorizcr tells you--you who have
been planting cotton all your life-that
yon know nothing about cotton culture,
hut that your mode is wrong from be-
ginning to end, it is not worth while to
listen to him but not less foolish is
the talk of those who think, because
they have been planters all their lives,
as their fathers we're before them, that
there Is nothing more to he learned and
no improvement to he made.
Cleaning aud Niling Harness.
"Oil and repair the harness. Un-
buckle all the parts and wash clean with
soft water, soap and II brush. A little
turpentinc or bcnzinc will take off any
eunmy substance which the soap fails
to remove. Then warm the leather,
and, us soon as dry on the surface, ap-
ply the oil with q paint brush or aswab.
NratSfoot oil is tho best. Hang up tho
harness il, !; warm place to dry, but do
not let it burn"
The above extract, says the Carriage
Journal, copied from n scientific paper,
should have been headed, "How to
Destroy Harness ;" the writer evidently
knew nothing of what he was writing
about, but, having all item to prepare,
wrote the above instructions. If this
article was one that would have been
read by none but harness makers. or
those conversant with the peculiar
properties of leather, it could do no
harm, us they would condemn it at a
glance, but unfortunately, those who
would be the most likely to read it are
those who use, not those who manufac-
tnre the harness, and by following the
directions given, they would injurc their
harness i'll attempting to save it; the
manufacturer would be blamed, and no
explanation on the part of the latter
would convince the customer that the
fault lay in the treatment the harness
had received after it passed into his
hands. The first and second sentences
are all that there is in the advice given
that would be safe to follow, but VIC
would suggest that they be transposcd,
;i the requiring and oiling should fol-
low the cleaning. The next instruction
Is t" use t,lrpentine or bcnzine to re-
n!ov" the g1l,nmy substances left after
cleaning with the soal. The1e
ar" no materials, except it be
some Of the most powerful acids,
that will more effectual1y destroy lcath-
or than these they strike in almost |
instantly, absorb the grease, harden the |
fibre, and kill the leather. Owing to |
thu penetrating powers Of turpcntinc a |
small quantity Of it is sometimes used |
III making harness black, but unless
n'.utr"lizcd by other ingredients it is
Injurious when applied in raw state
it il, absolutely destructive, and never
should be used under any prctcnsc. If |
,s'lnmy substances cannot be removed |
without its help they had better remain
ON tn" leather, 81 the harm would be |
much less than that resulting from the
turl"''tInc or lcnzinr The next lircc-
ton IS to warm the leather and apply
the oil. II the leather hi, not been
ruined by the t'rrentillc, the WARMING
process will complete the work "Ne,ts,
foot oil is the best" Tn some r,.srcct,. |
this is true, but If used alone it is the |
nr,*t I'M furious grease; that can be- .,,-
l'lird, IL, it more than amy other onns
The pores Of the leather, :u,u instead
of keeping out the moisture, puts thu !
leather III IL condition to obsorb moro |
than it otherwise would. If tallnw j, to
BIZ used as IL final dressing, then heats,
foot oil is the best material that ca, IL. |
applied as first coat We are finally
told to "ll;.,,g up the harness in Il warm
place to dry, but do not let it burn"
We are not sure that the caution against
burning is necessary, for if the leather
has gone through the treatment rc,,,,,.-
ncn'lrL, it might as well be burned ;,:+
not, ;,nl pi.rhaps-for tn" s;frty Of tn.
person who would use the harness. it
would lie Il good thing to crc,l;ltc it, as
it is already dead
Our advice to thnH: intending to
clean harness is first to lnburkle all
the straps and remove I'LL the metallic
PORTIONS possible without ripping the
stitching; then, il Il thick c'mting has
formed on any part where the harness
came in contact with the horse, remove
it by scraping with 1t wooden scr.lpcr
then place the straps il, water, and after !
they have been well soaked lay them on
Il board and with soap and brush clean
oil I'LL s,lperiluollY matter on the sur