LOOK AFTER YOUR BOOTS.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 April 1920, Page 10

LOOK AFTER YOUR BOOTS.

HOW TO TREAT YOUR FOOTWEAR. BY A WELL-KNOWN BOOTMAKER. Even now boots are a luxury, and require the greatest possible attention. They are very human in their way, and if care is taken of them from the very onset, they will be the first to acknowledge the treatment doled out to them by living as long as they can and keeping their shape. Boots and shoes require to be cleaned with a good polish or cream every time they are worn, whether they want it or not. When they arc wet and muddy they should be taken off and filled with either tissue, newspaper, or sawdust and left in a warm room to dry. They must never be put before a fire, as this takes the natural oil from the leather, making them hard and unpliahle- When quite dry brush them with a stifT brush till every speck of mud has vanished, and then apply the polish. If they have by accident been put to dry by a hot fire, and in consequence suffered, they must be rubbed with some kind of grease, such as vaseline, olive oil, or castor oil, to make them pliable. Tliis grease must he rubbed well in and left for some time and another dressing given later.

HAVE REPAIRS DONE IN TIME. Always use good polish, as inferior kinds tend to impoverish the leather. Be on the look-out for signs of wear appearing and have the damage seen to immediately. If minor repairs, such as toes or heels wearing down, missing eyelets or buttons, stiching coming undone, and the sole wearing thin at one side, are repaired at once, it will be a lont! time before they will need actual mending.

The indiarnhber soles and heels are a great life-giver to hoots and shoes, and so are the Vsr oxp<"i=ivo metal tips. Children's boots should be studded wit the latter as soon as they show the slightest sign of wear, or, better still, have them put on at the shop when tTfe boots are new.

There is a proper way to pull a boot on, and many people do not always think of tins when they are in a hurry to catch their morning train. The hoot should be unfastened so as to leave plenty of room for the foot to slip in easilv and glide into its place- The middle buttons should he fastened first, then the lower ones, and lastly the top ones-

FEEDING PATENT BOOTS. Tn the case of a laced boot, the lacing is all done loosely till the top is reached, then with a buttonhook the lace is adjusted so as to hold the instep firmly, leaving ample room for the toes to move fr.'ely, and lastly the upper part is se-' cured firmly but not too tightly. When footwear is not in use it. should be always kept on trees. There are very cheap kinds sold now, and although simple in construction are all that is necessary in the way of keeping tse boots in shape.

Patent leather shoes and even patent leather toe-caps need feeding with a special cream. The following one is quite simple to make, and not only gives a splendid polish, but improves the leather: Warm * little milk and linseed oil

and mix them well together. The lea-: ther must be perfectly free from dirt or grit before it is ' applied with a (small sponge. When rubbed in, polish with a soft, dry cloth, and a- brilliant shine will be 'the result. Xo stop the annoying creak that one sometimes experiences with new shoes, a small hole should be bored into the bole from the Inside. If boots are treated in the above manner, you will find that your boot bill is very'nearly half what it used to be, ' and' that your feet will be comfortable In them to the last.