Williams news., 1921-08-12


 Prepared by the United States Depart ment of Agriculture) It is poor business to neglect the care of leather. Every pair of shoes,
 every machine belt, piece of harness,
 or other leather product on the farm
 that is allowed to go to waste or not
 made to yield its full service must be
 needlessly replaced, thus adding un-
 necessary expense to the farm, say
 specialists of the United States De-
 nartment of Agriculture. On many farms a set of harness lasts less than ten years. Where eight or ten horses are kept this means one new set of harness every year. The department has received many reports, especially from Southern states, showing that harness lasts only from two to five years. But good harness, properly cared for, will last 20 years or more. In every neighborhood there are cases where farmers are cutting their har- ness bills in half by giving the leather cleaning and oiling occasionally.
 Fifty million pairs of shoes could be saved annually If the American people kept their footwear in repair, the specialists say. As a nation we buy some 3OOOOO.O 900 pairs of shoes v his shoes properly the needs could be supplied by 25O.OOO,0OO pairs. The wasting of single shoe a year by each person In the United States would cost the country at least $25O,- 100000 annually at present prices of shoes.
 Any leather improperly used and neglected will deteriorate rapidly. Belts for driving machinery, for ex- ample, often become impaired, if not useless, within a few years even on straight drives. but when they are kept clean and oiled they will last from ten to thirty years
 Selecting and Caring for Harness.
 Harness that is too light or of poor quality cannot give years of service. In selecting harness, 1t is more eco nomfcal to get set that is too heavy | than one which is too light for the | work required. Make sure especially | that the refns, breeching, holdback | straps. tugs or traces, bellybands, and | yoke straps are strong. A runaway | team cannot be controlled with weak | reins, nor will weak tugs and straps | stand heavy work. No portion of the | harness should show cracks on the grain side when the leather is sharp V bent
 Harness should be washed and oiled when 1t becomes dirty or extremely Try. For washing, use tep1d water, leurra1 soap, such as castillo or white Oilet soap, and a sponge or fairly stiff ,ruSh. Hardened grease Is very con 'eniently removed by scraping with
 dull knife. Rinse in clean, tepid water, and allow the harness to stand n warm place until it is no longer 1 yet but still damp. Then oil 1t and | cave 1t in a warm place for 24 hours efOre being used. Harness should be lied or greaSed while still damp oth- rwise, it may take up so much grease hat it will pull out of shape or take p sand and grit which will injure It, s well as. spoil it's appearance. Har- ess should never look or feel reasy.
 Neat'S-foOt or castor oil mix Ire of these with wool grease is good )r driving harness. For heavy har- ess use d mixture of any or all of iese' with wool grease to make aste, having about the consistency , butter. Apply the grease lightly to living harness and liberally to work | lrness. Rub the oil or grease, warm e
 the hand. thoroughly into the Ieath- V
 while it is still damp from wash d Z. After the harness has hung in a 1 VI arm room overnight. remove with I ean dry cloth the excess of oil which d Q leather is unable to take up u
 Keep Belts Clean. It In selecting belt for driving ma inery, make sure that 1t Is wide and V avy enough for the load it is to Try. Ordinarily the competent belt 8 aker's advie. as to the proper belt r a given Installation should be fol wed. If tn. belt is not suited to the ,rk 1t gives trouble continually, using shutdown of machinery that in II soon cost more in loss of time bl d wages than many good belts It tf ould always be sufficiently flexible flu cling closely to the smallest pulley bl CT which it passes belt will not af -e satisfactory results if it slips, ra '.~- -'1 run true. Is not properly l ed
 iS !