Brining - Washed skins are put into a salt solution in large containers and kept moving constantly, until the brine penetrates the skins. The concentration of salt is kept high, by continually adding salt to the brine solution. The skins are then taken out and dried ready for shipping. This is a very good method for preserving skins, but quite expensive. Wet salting - A flayed skin is laid out flat.
Salt is sprinkled on top, and a second skin is placed on top of the first.
This too is sprinkled with salt and the process continues until there are about 50 skins in the pile. The salt absorbs the moisture from the skins and the resulting brine penetrates the skins killing off the bacteria. Once the hides are in this state, they will keep for a very long while, as long as they do not get wet or warm. This process is very common in temperate climates and most of the pig and calf arriving at the tannery in Edinburgh is cured this way. There can be one problem with this method.