New-York tribune., 1897-01-31
4 SECRET OF THE BOOT TRADE.
WHAT BECOMES OF OLD HARNESS
From Answers.

From Answers
''old harness thrown away? Not likely said a
dealer in old leather Every scrap Of Il Is worth
money: in fact can't get enough OF It, Old-harne5s
collecting is as good as gold-disgins, If man can
only forage out enough horse.9Tners TO keep him
sands OF horses there are working In harness in
London alone you can imagine how great the sup
Nearly all the cas,oir harness Is consumed in
serviceabe article at low figure there's nothing to
ara a.o made from od
In The first place, the greater part Of i is bought
e BY Gs and army sas Of
demned' goods also from railway companies sales
wbers it is sorted into different qualities and prices
ranging from penny to sixpence pound. 1t Is
then sold smaller dealers OF the same kind. who in
turn distribute 1t to the boot manufacturers and
NOV. If It wasn't for the enormous quantity. Of
boots for few shillings No bootmaker could afford
leather for -sxpence yet hundreds of pairs
sold at this price every week in our grea: towns
and as long a horses are worked in harness, VIII
.'Old saddles are mostly used for making the in
ner soc of boot they are generally composed Of
the best leather. and besides being more durable.
will % e n uo s Gl he
tremendous quantity OF good Sound leather; ana
they they are dnry than anything else Undoubtedy
hunting saddle makes the finest boots but military
leather.
important item In the construction of cheap boots.
being split by machinery and laid under the sole
Then the 'blinkers' and traces are never very
much worn especially when they come from rich
peopla Some sets of harness, such as Is used by
omnibus companies. are very often useless when
thrown aside. being cracked and perished through
hard wear and long exposure TO the weather.
| ''Thc demand for old sets Of military harness Is
much greater than the supply. as II Is very little
worn and being we'll cleaned and always kept In
good condition. is much more p1iable and works up
newer Any goods made from the cast-on harness
of railway companies are also pretty serviceaple.
the large size and good quality of the leather
making them very useful for working up into
| other goods In fact. this leather. when used IN
| bootmakng looks we'll when trimmed and
| ironed that II Is Impossible Tor any one except
| those in the trade to detect IT,
| cheap harness In the winter time they use most
~ II for football boots 1t Is cut into strips and
nailed across the sole Of the boot 10 prevent the
wearer from slipping. You'd hardly think any
bodv would have this lone. considering that foot
hall boots are so cheap: but then some men prefer
70 wear out their old boots in this way. as they are
| Generally more comfortable than new ones.
"Thers is really cast-on article where the
material Is so little wasted as old harness. every
nar,icle OF II being used In some shape or FORM.
'rhe buckles and ornaments are cut OF ana sold py
| sacond hand dealers the collars are cut up ana
used for repairng leather bags, the hay stuning
being utilized for resulting old chairs and couches
Indeed II the supply OF disused harness we're
.v,ice as great as 1t Is. 1t would not fully satisfy
the demands of the boot and other trades