Stain for Riding Saddles, etc.—Saffron, three pennyworth; annatto, one pennyworth; soft soap, one pennyworth; and boiling water, 1 qt. Mix and let the whole stand until ready.
Reviver for Patent Leather.—Mix warm linseed oil 1 pt., and cream 1 pt. Apply with a sponge and polish with a soft flannel or rag.
Harness Composition.—(a) Glue, 4 oz.; gum arabic, 3 oz.; water, ¾ pt. Dissolve all by heat and add 6 oz. of treacle and 5 oz. of very finely powdered ivory black, and slowly evaporate with constant trituration until the composition is of the proper consistency when cold. When nearly cold, bottle and cork; if necessary the bottle can be warmed before use. (b) Mutton suet 2 oz., and pure beeswax 6 oz. Melt this mixture and then add finely powdered sugar candy, 6 oz.; soft soap, 2 oz.; lampblack, 2 oz.; and finely powdered indigo, ½ oz. When perfectly incorporated add ¼ pt. of oil of turpentine. Keep the composition in pots or tins, (c) Beeswax, 1 lb.; soft soap, 6 oz.; ivory black, ¼ lb.; Prussian blue (ground in), 1 oz.; linseed oil, 2 oz.; and oil of turpentine, ½ pt. Mix well together and pot. Put a thin layer of one of the above on the leather and polish gently with a brush or rubber.
Harness Jet.—Molasses, 8 parts; lampblack, 1 part; sweet oil, 1 part; gum arabic, 1 part; isinglass, 1 part; and water, 32 parts. Mix well together and add 1 pt. of turpentine. Apply the mixture with a sponge. If it is hard, place the bottle in hot water to soften the mixture. One ounce of spirit of wine can also be added when cool.
Waterproof Paste for Carriage Harness.—(a) Dissolve three sticks of black sealing wax in ½ pt. of alcohol, or dissolve lac in alcohol and colour with sufficient lampblack. (b) Melt 2 oz. of black resin in a glazed vessel over the fire, and then add 3 oz. of beeswax, and as soon as all is melted remove from the fire and add ½ oz. of fine lampblack and ½ oz. of Prussian blue in powder. Stir all well and add enough turpentine to form a thin paste. Cool and apply with a sponge; polish with a soft brush.
Oil for Farm and Team Harness.—Melt 3 lb. of pure tallow without letting it boil, and gently add 1 lb. of pure neatsfoot oil. Stir continually until cold, so that it will be perfectly mixed, otherwise the tallow will harden in lumps. To colour, add a little bone black or lampblack.
Brass Polishing Paste.—(a) Dissolve 3 parts of oxalic acid in 40 of water, with 100 of pumicestone powdered, 2 of oil of turpentine, 12 of soft soap, and 12 of any fat oil. (b) Beat equal weights of soft soap and rottenstone into a paste.
Plate Powder.—Take as much sulphate of iron as will fill a clay pipe, keep it on the fire for a quarter of an hour, and mix with powdered chalk.
Leather Preserver.—To preserve harness from the effect of ammonia in stables add a little glycerine to the oil employed.
Leather Cement.—(a) Dissolve guttapercha in bisulphate of carbon until of the consistency of treacle. Shave well the parts to be cemented and then spread a little cement evenly over them. Warm them for about half a minute, apply one against the other quickly, and press hard. Keep the bottle well corked and in a cool place. (b) Melt guttapercha, 16 parts; pure rubber, 4 parts; yellow pitch, 2 parts; shellac, 1 part; and linseed oil, 2 parts, and apply as above. (c) Guttapercha, 1 lb.; indiarubber, 4 oz.; pitch, 1 oz.; shellac, 1 oz.; and linseed oil, 2 oz. Melt all together. The composition will harden when kept, and must be melted for use.