Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Boot

BOOT, a cover or defence for the leg and foot, made of leather, and generally worn by horsemen. The boot is by no means a modern invention, as it was worn in the Roman army by the infantry as well as the cavalry. It was originally made of leather, but afterwards of brass or iron, that it might be proof against the sword.

There are various kinds of boots, as hunting-boots, fishing-boots, jack-boots, &c. The fishermen of New England preserve their boots water proof by the following composition: One pint of boiled lint-seed oil, half a pound of mutton suet, six ounces of pure bees-wax, and four ounces of rosin. These ingredients are melted together over a slow fire, and the boots or shoes, when new and quite clean, are warmed, and rubbed with the composition till the leather is completely saturated.

There is an improved composition for preserving leather, the good effects of which are sufficiently ascertained. One pint of drying oil, two ounces of yellow wax, two ounces of spirit of turpentine, and half an ounce of Burgundy pitch, should be carefully melted together over a slow fire. With this mixture new shoes and boots are rubbed either in the sun, or at some distance from a fire, with a sponge or brush: the operation is to be repeated as often as they become dry, until they be fully saturated. In this manner, the leather becomes impervious to wet; the shoes or boots made of it last much longer than those made of common leather; acquire such softness and pliability that they never shrivel nor grow hard or inflexible; and, in that state, are the most effectual preservatives against cold and chilblains. It is, however, necessary to remark, that shoes or boots, thus prepared, ought not to be worn till they have become perfectly dry and elastic; as, in the contrary case, the leather will be too soft, and wear out much sooner than even the common kind.