Iron collar

“ The sprit is 10 feet long, 1-1/2 inches diameter, shaved to 3/4-inch for 2 inches at each end.
The iron collar, i, through which the mast is inserted loosely, stands two feet above the top of plank, A. It is supported by three iron braces, h h h, and is bolted to the tops of them. The braces are 3/4-inch round iron, and bolted to the frame as shown.
Fig. 3.
The hind-runner block, C, is fastened to A by a strong iron, m, as shown in Fig. 1. It allows the runner to rock up and down, and to be turned sidewise by the tiller. ”

“ Now a strong old strap, 1 ft. long, with a buckle is wanted; this is called the throat strap. The hand-iron, a medium-sized collar needle, seat-awl, scissors, and collar knife being placed near at hand, get a bundle of rye or wheat straw, preferably rye, and place it straight together by the side of the stool, with a sheet of drummed flock or basket of carded flock all within reach. As during work the legs are placed inside the collar, making it awkward for the operator to move, it is well to have handy a flat-headed mallet besides the collar mallet. ”

“ The same characteristic style of art is seen in the decoration of a massive collar of cast bronze (Fig. 112) , which was found 136in digging a well at Stitchell, in Roxburghshire, in 1747, and is now in the National Museum. Like the armlets found in 137the Plymouth graves, this collar is jointed, opening on a hinge in the centre, and fastening in front by a pin and socket. It is a very massive and heavy ornament, the width of the opening being 6 inches by 5, and the breadth of the flattened ring varying from 13⁄4 inch to 1⁄4 inch. ”

“ The collars are of iron, hinged at the topmost point, and having a clasp like that of a lady’s bracelet to close them beneath the horse’s neck. When hanging, they are open to{439} their full extent; and as they descend upon the horse, they close and snap by their own weight. ”

“ When a collar is too large to be adapted to a thin neck by stuffing, it will be well to cut a portion out of its centre at once, which can be done by first measuring the excess of space roughly, then take the collar off the animal; lay it on a board or table, and cut out evenly as much as is thought requisite, and if on testing the collar it is found still too large, cut out a little more from each side of the incision until the collar takes its proper bearing, but take care that a proper medium is observed regarding the position of the lower end, or bow, of the collar. ”

“ The curious buttons and gold lace on the cuffs and collars of the tunics of the Life-Guards have the like explanation, but this is hardly intelligible without reference to a book of uniforms, as for example Cannon's "History of the Second Dragoon Guards."
The collar of a coat would in ordinary weather be turned down and the lining shown; hence the collar has commonly a different color from that of the coat, and in uniforms the same color as have the cuffs, which form, with the collars, the so-called "facings." ”

“ The collar is the keystone of the pulling part of the harness. It should fit to a nicety, every horse having his own collar as much as the coachman should have his own boots. The collar should be lined with some non-porous material, preferably soft leather—even thin patent leather is good and easily cleaned. If the collar is too wide, it will rub the shoulders; if too short, it will choke the horse; if rounded at the top, it will press on and gall the withers. ”

“ Strong devised some method by which a slight linen film was put on the paper, adding strength to the collar and giving it the appearance of the genuine article. You bought a pasteboard box containing a dozen of these collars for something like the price you paid for the washing of half a dozen linen ones. The Danby and Strong Piccadilly collar jumped at once into great popularity, and the wonder is that the linen collar ever recovered from the blow dealt it by this ingenious invention. ”

“ The collar is made to serve either as a stand collar for drill purposes, and to fall over for mess wear. It is made of scarlet cloth, with collar and pointed cuffs, or the regimental facings, edged all round with white cloth, 1⁄8 inch wide, ten buttons down the front, two above each cuff at back of sleeve, with shoulder cords, as worn on the doublet. In the Royal Highlanders, the jacket will have bluff silk lining, except for collar, which is dark blue, and no facing cloth on the inside. ”

“ All under collars should be put on rather loose, but not full, at the side of the neck. The principle of a standing collar must be well understood, for it is a permanent thing, and to be applied equally in the construction of all garments with collars, no matter if it is standing alone or if a turn-down piece is attached to it. ”

“ The best flock is used for stuffing riding-saddle panels, etc., and the best drummed flock is used for collars, being put near the horse’s breast under the lining to make the collars easy for the shoulder.
The drummed flocks are in large sheets, and these are cut to the size and shape required, and, being of even thickness, will not be lumpy, an important consideration in making a collar. Coarser flock of a white, brown, or any dark colour will do for stuffing and restuffing gig-saddle panels. ”

“ The calves are snatched out and the "jimption is socked to 'em," as the boys express it. So with any yearlings or older stock that have escaped the branding-iron in former seasons. One or more irons for each owner are kept hot, and when a roper has "downed" an animal he or the foreman calls for the iron wanted, and setting his foot upon the victim's neck places the red-hot device on its ribs, and throws his weight upon it, leaving a deep, indelible, and time-enduring trade-mark which even he who runs may read. ”

“ When new collars are found to fit uneasily and chafe in particular places, it is a common expedient among mule teamsters to lay the ill-fitting collar in water, and allow it to soak for the night; it is then taken out wet and fitted to the animal’s neck, to which it at once adapts itself. Much trouble is often experienced on long and toilsome expeditions from loss of condition and leanness of the animals causing the saddles and collars to fit badly and, consequently, cause severe sores. ”

“ It is as well on the first day of harnessing the colt to omit putting on the hames and traces, for they would only knock about and alarm him, but if you decide on putting them on, the traces must be drawn out horizontally and firmly attached to the breeching by means of straps or cording. It is good practice to connect the collar at the withers loosely with the pad by means of a strap, to prevent the collar from slipping forward to the ears when the animal’s head is lowered. A common riding bridle should then be placed on [116] the head, and the colt led about for an hour. ”

“ Mending a Collar.
Men’s collars are among those articles that one had come to regard as useless as soon as they are torn or worn, and therefore at the first sign of disrepair to be replaced by new ones. Yet collars nowadays are a far more expensive item than they were a few years back; a frequent supply of new collars means a considerable outlay. Before discarding the torn collar, therefore, it is well to see if it is not possible to repair it, and it nearly always is possible. ”

“ Every animal in the team should have its own, and on first selecting the collar for fitting so put it on that the collar strap can be buckled up to the last hole in the tongue strap. When you have done this there should be room enough at the bottom of the collar in front of the animal’s chest to pass the open hand when laid flat freely forward and back between the inside of the collar and the animal’s neck. ”

“ The first of these is worn indiscriminately by both sexes, the second principally confined to the men, while a string of elk's tusks is a collar almost peculiar to the women and children. Another collar worn by the men is a string of round bones like the joints of a fish's back, but the collar most preferred, because most honourable, is one of the claws of the brown bear. ”

“ Men think now-a-days they can mouth a colt by machinery. They tie his head up and down in the most intricate manner, put a great bit in his mouth, and if the bit is not considered heavy enough, a bag of shot is tied to each side of it. The animal is then forced to stand in a stall with his head tightly buckled up to the roller, and there he is made to stand, fastened [35] to the pillar reins, in a fixed position for hours at a time. No wonder that half the horses in England have mouths like cast-iron. Colts cannot be mouthed by machinery, but only by proper handling in the saddle. ”

“ An interesting relic is to be seen in the two little linen flaps which we call bands (see Figure 35) . These are still worn by preachers in conjunction with the Geneva gown, by barristers, and by Blue-coat boys (see Figure 36) , and [45] we can easily trace their relationship to the collar. Until a few years ago the choristers at Jesus College, Cambridge, wore a peculiar collar which ended in two flaps much resembling bands, and the descent of this from the large structures which were called falling bands is not difficult to trace. ”

“ The body may be either low or high, with a small collar having two rows of cambric plaited very fine, or with a jaconet collar having open plaits, or again with a Charles V. collar, made of frieze well starched and lustred. The under sleeves should be always in harmony with the collar. ”

“ In the illustration of this room the man is standing with a handful of blanks feeding a small tube or shoot, from which they drop on to a sliding plate and are conveyed into a collar, as it is called. We see the piece a blank for the last time. Once in the collar, if the machinery is in motion, nothing can save that smooth-faced blank from becoming, in appearance at least, a coin of the realm. The blank rests on a die and beneath a die. ”

“ Pig-iron contains silicon, sulphur and phosphorus, and these impurities make it brittle so that a cast iron teakettle will break at a blow, like a china cup. Armor of this kind would have been no good for our iron-clad ancestors. When a knight in iron clothes tried to whip a leather-clad peasant, the peasant could have cracked him with a stone and his clothes would have fallen off like plaster from the ceiling. So those early iron workers learned to puddle forge iron and make it into wrought iron which is tough and leathery and can not be broken by a blow. ”

“ And in the Forest of Dean and thereabouts, and as high as Worcester, there are great and infinite quantities of these cinders, some in vast mounts above ground, some underground, which will supply the iron works some hundreds of years, and these cinders are they which make the prime and best iron, and with much less charcoal than doth the ironstone. ”

“ Bingley-Spyker, warming to his subject, "it's years since I've had a genuinely clean collar from my laundry. Mostly they are speckled. And the specks are usually in a conspicuous position; one on each wing is a favourite combination. I grant you these can be removed by a penknife, but imperfectly and with damage to the fabric. When what I may call the main portion of the collar is affected, the speckled area may occasionally be concealed by a careful disposition of one's tie. ”

“ If greater, or from that to half grown, you will require the supplejack, and let it be thicker at one end than at the other. For a half-grown animal the iron rod will be absolutely necessary, and it must be of sufficient weight that a blow of it on the skull may be sufficient to produce a temporary insensibility—the only chance you will have of escape, should the fierce brutes at any time take it into their heads to rebel. ”

“ The shape of the collar end at H must be left to the taste of the operator, to form it in accordance with the turn, so as to produce the effect desired. F is the depth of the fall above D, and is drawn from F to H. This is a collar system which adapts itself to almost all styles and widths of collar, from the Dress Coat to the Overcoat with the wide collar. It requires very little working up, and has the advantage of adding additional spring at the fall edge: when the fall becomes deeper, a result which must commend itself to all thoughtful minds. ”

“ It is a custom for every visitor to bring with him some pieces of iron, to throw against the rocks: the appearance is very strange; old horse-shoes, forks, knives, bars of iron, nails, and barrels of pistols, are hanging from the projecting stones, the nails standing upright, as if they were growing. These pieces of iron have themselves become very powerfully magnetic. ”

“ These, however, are only continued to the waist, from thence they escape confinement, and the material droops in graceful freedom. A collar, narrow at the throat, but with two scallops upon each side springing boldly to greater width, adorns the neck; from the point formed by the scalloped cut of the collar depends a fancy tassel at the back. The cloak is elaborately adorned with a rich design in needle-work. ”

“ Coats which require a collar to be stretched nearly into a circle around the back are often cut too low or too wide at the neck. For such a round-shaped collar may be required to close well in at the neck, but it will never make an elegant job, and such coats usually indicate too much cloth in the shape of wrinkles below the collar, or on the top of the shoulders. A collar must not run with the slope of the shoulders, but must turn upward at the side of the neck to permit it to pass through. ”