[Illustration: FIG 1.]

These things are of great importance, and are the principal reasons for
the failures of all former efforts. The leather which Roullier used was
stiff, hard, and husky. He believed that the harder the link the greater
its tensile strength, but upon actual test this was found to be a fatal
error.

Our leather links are saturated with a mixture of tallow, neatsfoot oil,
etc. This makes them very pliable and increases their toughness, so that
they will stand a strain three times as great as a piece of hard rolled
sole leather.

In manufacturing this belt, the joining together is important. The links
must be accurately assorted as to thickness, and the outer links
countersunk, to admit the bolt. Then the most valuable improvement of
all is our "American joint" (see Fig. 1).

By close inspection you will observe that it is absolutely necessary to
use half length bolts for the width of wide leather link belts.

Examine Figs. 2 and 3. In the latter you will notice one length of bolt
placed on a round faced pulley. That belt must either bend or break, and
in any case it will not give satisfaction; but, on the other hand,
examine Fig. 2; here two half length bolts are used, and ingeniously
joined in the center. It gives just pliability enough to lay the belt
flat upon the pulley. We experimented for some time before perfecting
this important improvement.

We also took out four patents for different methods of joining, but