The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1878-07-17


Kid Gloves and Theil Production.
Very few persons who are daily wear.
ing kid gloves ever stop to think how
many hands are required before q glove
can be put on the counter, ready for the
customer.
The materials used in making a kid
glove are either the skins of kids from
six weeks to three months old-and
these furnish the best article-or the
skins of lambs of about the same age:
there are also the skins of sheep, but
these make but poor and inferior arti-
Gle. The first process of making a glove
is the tawing. To facilitate the removal
OF the hair or wool, the skins are placed
in solution of lime, where they re-
main for some time, after which they are
| placed in running water to remove the
lime, and after being taken out of this
the hair easily comes out with. the aid
! OF blunt scraper. This process is re-
peated two or three times, until everv
hair and small particle of flesh adhering
to the skin are entirely removed, and the
skins then are ready for the tawinR op-
GRAFTON. For this purpose they apply
an ingredient of the yolks of eggs, alum,
salt, ETC., a polluted preparation, in
which solution the skins remain for sew
eral weeks, so that they may bee me
thoroughly saturated, which gives them
the necessary whiteness, after which
they undergo the various coloring pro-
cesses. The dyeing requires consider
able skill and fine eye, for the compo-
sition of the various shades. The color
Is applied to each skin separately with
brush, each requiring from one to four
applications of the color according to
the shade desired. The only exceptions
to this are the very light shades, the So
called evening colors, which are prod5do-
Ell by lmmersing 200 or 800 skiing at one
time in a vat containing the coloring
matter, which Will soak through every
pareIc1e cSGT the skin. After being thor
-@dghly dried ina room heated up to $50
deg. Fahr., the skins reach the cutter to
be cut in square pieces; this is most
delicate operation, and not only requires
skill, but good judgment. The gloves
have to be cut with the grain of the
skin, running from the head down, and
great waste of material would result from
the employment of any but the most
skillful hands. One skin will cut on the
average from three to four gloves, ac-
cording to sizes required; though when
large sheep skins are used, one skin will
give from nine to ten inferior gloves.
The squares thus cut are put up in pack
ages of from six to twelve pairs of
gloves, and by means of a punch and a
powerful press, are cut out in pieces
resdy to be sewed.
The sewing on fine gloves is all done
by hand, and requires the best seam
stresses. Over 5000 stitches are requ r
ed to sew pair of ladies' gloves, and
the best hands cannot finish more than
four pairs in a day of twelve hours. For
the sewing of lower grades of gloves
there is now machine in use, but, even
with this help, the best hands cannot
! sew more than twelve to fourteen pairs
per day. The making of button holes,
putting on buttons, packing, ETC., all
require extra hands, each trained in their
special vocation, and thus glove, before
being ready for sale, passes through no
less than 200 different hands.
The largest glove producing countries
are France, Germany, Belgium, Austria
and Italy. England also makes some
few gloves, but mostly heavier goods,
such as driving gloves, etc. France and
Belgium make the finest goods, using
only kid skins, while Germany makes all
kinds OF lamb and sheep skin gloves, and
Italy produces nothing but a very low
priced article. The consumption oi
gloves in this country, in proportion tc
its population, is still very small. Las
year there was total importation Of
zoo, 600 dozen only, while France alone
manufactured 2, ZOO, 900 dozen, of which
one-half were exported. The produc
ton of Germany and Austria can be safe
ly calculated at 100000 dozen PEI
annum.
The production of gloves in this coun
try is still in its infancy, and limited tt
heavy goods, such as driving and line(
gloves for winter wear; but the time il
, not far distant, when we will be able Il
produce the greater part of the glove
} needed for our home consumption.