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Leather, Ink, and Miscellaneous: Boots

BOOTS AND SHOES Care of Boots and Shoes. The great enemy of leather, especially patent leather, is heat. Extreme heat tends to rob the leather of its vitality and causes it to break and crack. Damp shoes should never be placed near a stove to dry, since if heated enough to give off the characteristic odor of leather they may be singed and ruined. Rubber overshoes also tend to destroy the strength of leather by retaining the animal heat. Hence they should not be worn more than is necessary.

To Dry Shoes. -Place damp shoes on their sides in a warm room, in a draught of dry air if possible, but not near a fire.

Or heat bran or sand and with this fill two old stockings, tying the tops tightly. Put the shoes on these as on shoe trees.

Or stuff the wet shoes full of dry crumpled newspaper.

To Restore Softness to Leather.- Rub boots or shoes, that have become hard from being wet, with neat's-foot oil or castor oil as warm as the hands will bear. Apply with a sponge and rub it in with the fingers.

To Preserve Boots and Shoes.- Pour a little boiled linseed oil in a tin pan or plate, and let the shoes stand in this until the soles are saturated. This oil dries rapidly and renders the soles tough and hard. But do not apply linseed oil to the upper leathers. Use neat's-foot oil or castor oil for this purpose, to render them soft and pliable. Apply to the seams a good waterproof varnish by means of a feather or pencil brush. Keep the upper leathers clean and oil occasionally before polishing. Go over the bottom and edges of the soles occasionally with one or two coats of hard white copal or other varnish.

Boots and shoes treated in this way will last much longer than usual and be practically impervious to moisture.

To Clean Boots and Shoes. - Provide three good brushes, one hard to brush off the mud, another soft to apply blacking, and a third of medium hardness for polishing. If covered with mud, wash off the dirt with a damp sponge, dry, and rub with neat's-foot oil before polishing. Do not scrape off the mud with a knife.

Use a stiff brush rather than a knife to clean mud from the seams.

Once a week rub leather shoes at night with milk. Polish next morning as usual. Milk freshens the leather.

To clean upper leathers, mix 1 ounce of oxalic acid with 1 ounce of white vitriol, and dilute with 1½ pints of water. Wash the leather, apply this mixture with a sponge, and rinse with a sponge wet in a little clear water containing a teaspoonful of ammonia to neutralize the acid.

Or wash with clear water. When nearly dry, rub with kerosene or a mixture of equal parts of kerosene and glycerin.