Tombstone epitaph., 1890-06-07
SHOE-LEATHER OILS.
How Grease Affects the Wearing Quality
 of Foot Gear.


 of FOot-G Gear.
 Animal oils and greases incorporate themselves with the fiber; they do not evaporate. Their action, says the Boots and Shoes Weekly, is like that of cOmpOunding various metals-instead of forming a composition, in the one case, all the elements are so compounded that their individuality is lost, and sep aration is almost impossible; in the other, the elements are mixed, but can be separated almost without loss in bulk. Moisture will drive the grease to the surface, and gradually the in- terior will be robbed of it's life, but there is no evaporation. Consequently the leather retains it's fiexibility much longer than when the grease is also drawn out by heat and the action of the air.
 Animal oil does not pene trate the leather so quickly as oils that are more volatile, but this very quality is what makes them UOre valuable. as they are taken up by the fiber, Eot . ply sucked in and filling around it, and they are equally difficult to draw out. Rancid O-ls, oils that have undergone chemical change that marks the first step toward vitiation, have lost their most valuable properties, and the process of decay which has begun introduces gases, creating the volatile element which so quickly rObs-the leather of it's nourish- ment. At the same time tho fiber is in- tired bV the decayinr crease
 Vegetable oils rank next to animal in their preservative qualities, but the oils extracted from flax seed and cotton soed, unless purified, are of such gummy nature and so easily affected by heat that they are unfit for use by the cur rier. Cotton-seed oil, purified as it is when sold for sweet oil, is an excellent but an expensive oil for leather. Pure olive and castor oil possess the qualities requisite for preserving leather and keeping it soft, but their cost precludes their general use. Castor oil is the best.
 Fish. oil is used more than any other and to it's use may be attributed much of the poor wearing qualities of the leather now in the market. By an i'm proved process of manufacture fish oils are dcodorized so thoroughly that their presence can not be detected. They pen citrate more readily than either animal or vegetable oils, but they do not incor- porate themselves with the fiber. They simply fill up the interstices, and being of light nature they are easily drawn out by heat or moisture. They impart a soft condition to the leather when it is new, as much so if not moro than do the animal oils, and because of that they are notcondemned. If used freely in connec- tion with hard grease they become ran cid, and impart an odor which is re- tained as long as there is any grease in the leather.
 Mineral oils are being introduced quite freely, and as they are thoroughly deodorized they find ready purchasers. These oils are the worst possible that can be put into leather. They have wonderful penetrating properties, but they are heating, and their volatile properties deprive them cf the permanency so necessary for the preservation of the leather. They do not take kindly to other oils or greases, and are easily cut by water. While the natural heat from the feet will cause evaporation, particularly if the leather is moist, they do not become rancid, but they are more injurious to the fiber than even the most rancid animal oil.
 The shoe manufacturer should con demn all leather treated with mineral oils. A little care on his part will en- able him to determine the oil used, whether animal, vegetable or mineral. Good grain and clear feshod stock in- vite the eye, and if properly treated with oils the leather will prove accept able, but grease is the life of the leather, and just in proportion as the grease is pure and incorporates itself with the fiber is the leather durable or otherwise.