The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1897-05-08
BOOTS FROM OLD HARNESS.
Cheap Footwear Made from Cast
of Horse Trappings.
Enormous Quantities of the Material
Consumed I'm This Wny-Dis-
carded Saddles Also
Utilized.

"Old harness thrown away? Not |
likely" said a dealer in old leather.
EVERY scrap of it is worth money; in
fact, l can't get enough of it. Old har-
ness collecting is as good as gold dig
cling, if a man can only forage out
enough horse owners to keep him well
supplied. When you just think how
many thousands of horses there are
working in harness in London alone,
you can imagine how great the supply
is.
Nearly all the cast-off harness is
consumed in making cheap boots. Peo-
pie win have cheap boots, and the boot
manufacturers find that for making a
serviceable article at a low figure there's
nothing to beat old harness. Then
again, whip-thongs and bootlaces are
also made from old horse-trappings.
SIN the first place, the greater part of
il is bought up by big. marine store
dealers, who collect it from the harness
makers, and from army sales of con-
demned goods, also from railway com
panies' sales, the average buying price
being twopence per pound. These
dealers have it taken to their ware
houses, where it is sorted into different
qualities and prices ranging from one
emmy to sixpence a pound. 1t is then
sold to smaller dealers of the same
kind, who in turn distribute it to the
boot manufacturers and others.
'Now, if it wasn't for the enormous
quantity of old harness used by boot
manufacturers, nottingham would
not be able to purchase pair of new
boots for few shillings. No boot
maker could afford to sell a pair of
mems boots made entirely of new
leather for three and siXpence; yet hun
dreds of pairs are sold at this price
every week in our great towns, and, as
/ long as horses are worked in harness,
will continue to be.
"Old saddles are mostly used for max
ing the inner sole of a boot, as they
are generally composed of the best
leather, and, besides being more durable,
will not crack or perish. The most
profitable saddle to cut up is a riding
saddle You see, they contain tre-
mendous quantity of good, sound
leather; and then they are frequently
thrown aside more because they are
dingy than anything else. Undoubted-
ly a hunting saddle makes the finest
boots; but military riding saddles are
usually made of the very best leather
1.-THE 'reins' used for driving a horse
form an important item in the con
struction of cheap boots, being split 10y
machinery and Laid under the sole
Then the drinkers and traces art
never very much worn, especially wheI
they come from rich people. Some set
of harness such as is used by omnibu
companies, are very often useless When
thrown aside, being cracked and per
isbed through hard wear and long ex
posture to the weather.
"The demand for old sets of militar.
d. harness is much greater than the SUI
ply, as it is very little worn, and, beini
well cleaned and always kept in goo
a condition, is much more pliable an
works mp newer. Any goods made fror
the cast-off harness of railway CON
panies are also pretty serviceable, til
T. 0iNC anu DONi iAoAlAl ~ ttAN 10 eNtAAN
making them very useful for workin
up into other goods. In fact, tn
leather, when used in bootmaking, lool
so well when trimmed and irOned ths
it is impossible for anyone eXcspt thos
in the trade to detect it.
"Small shoemakers use up a gre'
L deal of the cheap harness. In the vii
ter time they use most of it for footba
boots. It is cut into strips and maize
across the sole of the boot to prevei
=, the wearer from slipping. You'd har
z ly think anybody would have this don
considering that football boots are
Z cheap; but, then. some men prefer
{ wear out their old boots in this wa
Z as they are generally more comfortah
; than new ones.
"There is really no cast-off artic
where the material is so little vast
( as old harness, every particle of it bell
: used in some shape or form. ]
bucllles and ornaments are cut off Q,
s sold by secondhand dealers, the cola
{ are cut up and used forrepairing leath
{ bags. the hay stuiling being utilized
y resulting old chairs and coaches
- Indeed, if the supply of disused b;
- ness we're twice as greatas it is itwou
not fully satisfy the demands of the be
and other trades. London Answers